Tell Them I Ain't Comin' Back
by sudipal
Summary: It's been years since Malcolm Reynolds had first taken on the persona of Richard Castle. But when he finds out that his crew had never given up searching for him, which life will he choose?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: You asked for it, so here it is. Please enjoy. Can't stop the signal!

Disclaimer: Joss is boss! Fox is going to the 'special hell.' That about sums it up.

* * *

Chapter 1:

The first thing Malcolm Reynolds noticed was that his head hurt. _Really hurt_. The second thing he noticed was that he was in a chair with his hands cuffed behind his back. He groaned and slowly forced his eyes open, giving himself time to adjust to the light. The room was white with no windows. Straight ahead of him were three people in Alliance uniforms. One man was sitting behind a table, with another man and a woman standing directly behind him.

"Malcolm Reynolds," said the seated officer. "Welcome back. You were out for quite a while."

"Sorry to keep you waiting," said Mal.

"Don't worry about it," said the man.

"Wasn't plannin' on it," said Mal. "Now, mind telling me why I'm here?"

The Alliance officer smiled. "You fought in the war, didn't you? A sergeant for the Dependents, or 'Browncoats', as you've come to be called."

"The war is over," said Mal.

"I doubt you really believe that," said the officer. "You've stirred the pot by transmitting our files concerning Miranda; made many people upset with the Alliance. They're beginning to rebel. You know as well as anyone the force we're willing to exact to quell the masses, but we don't really want to have to go to all that trouble again."

"Sorry to put you out like that," said Mal.

"You've been a thorn in the Alliance's side for many years. But you've always been just out of our grasp. Until now."

They stared at each other in silence for a moment. "Are you gonna kill me?" Mal asked.

The officer laughed. "Far be it from me to turn you into a martyr."

"Prison?"

"Tell me," said the officer. "Are you familiar with the history of Earth-That-Was?"

"A little."

"The French Revolution?" he asked.

"Ain't that the one where the peasants rebelled against the nobles and decapitated everyone? Ya see, I always liked that story for some reason."

"They say the revolution truly began when the peasants stormed the Bastille, a prison in Paris. We don't want history repeating itself, now do we? So, no, _Sergeant Reynolds_, we are not going to imprison you in one of our detainment facilities."

"That's very good," said Mal. "But then what are you gonna do?"

"We won't imprison you _here_," said the officer. "We have a better place to store you. One where your friends can't try to rescue you."

"And where is that?" asked Mal.

"The past."

"Excuse me?" said Mal. "Ya see, for a second there I thought you said 'the past.'"

"You know very well that the Alliance has dabbled in many types of experiments," said the officer. "One of them happens to be time travel."

"You're kidding," said Mal in disbelief.

"I'm not," he said. "We're going to send you back in time. Back to Earth-That-Was, where you won't be able to bother us. We will, however, send you with a guardian to make sure you stay out of trouble. We'll send an officer to guard you, and they will keep us up to date with your situation. We'll retrieve the both of you when the threat of an attack has been relieved and your stance is no longer important to us."

"Oh good."

"Agent Rodgers," said the officer. The female standing behind him immediately stepped forward.

"Yes, Sir," she said.

"Are you prepared to accompany Sergeant Reynolds?" he asked.

"Yes, Sir."

"Good," smiled the officer.

* * *

Malcolm Reynolds and Martha Rodgers walked into the mid-sized apartment. It wasn't super extravagant, but it was nice when compared to the usual idea of a prison.

"I suppose," said Martha. "That we should just settle in tonight and begin to situate ourselves into society tomorrow."

"I s'pose," said Mal, who had walked up to a window and was peering out to the street below.

"You know," she said. "It'll be a lot easier for you if you just get used to the idea that you're stuck here as quickly as possible. I don't like working with difficult people, and I can tell already that you're probably gonna be one of the most stubborn people I'll come to meet."

Mal was silent, still staring out the window.

Martha suddenly got fed up with the lack of attention and walked over to join him and to see what was so interesting that he couldn't look at her when she was talking. She saw dozens of people rushing past each other on the street, overshadowed by the surrounding tall buildings.

"All those stories about Earth-That-Was," said Mal. "Never thought it would be like this."

"Like what?" asked Martha.

"So... regular."

"Things are only extraordinary when compared to the ordinary," said Martha. She thought for a moment. "Anyway, people like what's familiar."

"This definitely ain't familiar," said Mal, shaking his head.

"Well," said Martha. "It will eventually. Best get a head start." She walked away towards the kitchen, opening the cabinets to take stock of her supplies.

"I'll get right on that," he said.

"I may have been appointed to guard you," she said, bending down to take a closer look at the oven. "But I'm just as stranded here as you are. At least I've learned to accept the inevitable."

"Well, I haven't."

"And so you're forced to continually fight a losing battle," she remarked.

"So I should just follow the herd?" he asked. "Like you?"

Martha turned to him. "I play my own game."

"And I bet that's very lonely," said Mal.

"Well," she smiled. "I've got you now, don't I?"

"I reckon that's true," he said, bitterly.

"Don't be so glum," she said. "It may be _regular_ out there, but there are so many new opportunities to start over. I'm sure there are many people out there who'd love a second chance."

"Well then give them my share," said Mal.

"Look," she said. "You and I are going to be together for a very long time, so we might as well try to make the most of it. Tomorrow we'll survey this city, and maybe you'll decide this place isn't so bad after all."

"I don't know what you're so happy to be distancing yourself from back home," said Mal. "But by my being here, I'm leaving behind my ship and my crew, and I love 'em both more than anything. And now they're out there, and probably have no idea what happened to me. I promised myself I'd always be there for them, and now I ain't. And I can't stop thinking that I've let them down. So you'll have to pardon me if I don't seem in a proper mood as of late."

"Mal," she said. "I'm very sorry about all of this. And despite what you think, I know how you feel. I have a sister, _had_ a sister. It hurt at first, but eventually I was able to move on with my life."

"I'm sorry," said Mal.

"Your friends aren't gone; they're still living their lives. You're just not there to see it."

Mal looked her in the eyes, sizing her up. She seemed strong, perhaps just as stubborn as himself. But she had a heart all the same. He wanted to hate her, to use her as an outlet for all his frustrations. But he just couldn't. She was a good person, despite her job, which she didn't sound that loyal towards anyway.

"So, tell me," he said. "What am I supposed to do now?"

"Oh, I don't know," she said with a wave of her hand. "Why don't you take up a hobby? Chess, model airplanes, scrap-booking..."

"Thanks," said Mal, rolling his eyes.

"You can start writing that novel," she said, grinning. "Now, why don't you get cleaned up while I make dinner?"

Mal answered sarcastically, "Yes, Mother..." Martha threw a dish towel at him in response. And he smiled, for the first time since he got there, as he walked into the other room.

* * *

A/N: Hope you like it so far. If Martha seems a little OOC, that's on purpose. I want to give the impression that she's evolved over the years, as has Mal/Castle.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

She used to hear from the Alliance once a month, maybe two, but as time went on, their transmissions became less and less frequent, until they finally stopped all together. "I suppose war is keeping them busy," Martha mused one day.

"Good," said Mal.

"Why do you say that?" she asked.

"Cuz it means we're still putting up a fight."

"I suppose that's true," said Martha. "A few uprisings had already begun before we left. People, those who originally supported the Alliance, were in a state of shock after they found out about Miranda."

"Well," said Mal. "Any decent human being should be."

There was a pause in the conversation, so Martha changed the subject. "How's your big story idea coming along?"

"Really well, actually," he said. "Nearly done."

"May I read it sometime?" asked Martha.

"You can read it right now," he said. "If you want."

"I've got the time," she said, smiling.

Mal paced up and down the living room as Martha sat on the couch and flipped through his manuscript. "That's really distracting, you know," she finally said after several minutes, though not taking her eyes off the page. "Why don't you go outside for a bit?"

"Fine," he sighed. "I can use the fresh air, anyway."

–

He came back an hour later. "Well?"

Martha turned to face him and said, "That was amazing."

"You're just sayin' that."

"No," she said. "Really. I think you should try to find a publisher."

"You liked it that much?" he asked, a little wary of the flattery, but didn't mind hearing it anyway.

"Obvious Alliance undertones," she said. "The victim with only a brown coat to identify him, the American and Chinese business partners... But still. I could really identify with your characters. Where'd you come up with the crazy sister and her brother? And the plot was well thought out and had me surprised until the very end. I tell you, Derrick Storm is going places."

"Thanks," said Mal.

"I'm surprised you didn't do a science fiction, though," she said.

"I know crime," said Mal. "And I understand what some men are willing to do when things ain't going how they want it; the idea just seemed to flow."

"Well," she said. "You've got talent."

"So," Mal said, sitting down beside her on the couch. "What about you?"

"What about me?" she asked.

"You've also got a chance to start over," he said. "So what have you always wanted to do?"

"Oh, I don't know..." she shrugged.

"Come on."

"Well..."

"Yeah?" he asked.

"When I was younger," said Martha. "I kind of thought I'd like to be an actress. But it's silly."

"I ain't laughin'," said Mal.

"Do you really think?" she asked.

"Don't hurt to try," he said.

"Mal?" she said.

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

–

About a month later, Martha had a smile on her face as she walked into the apartment. Mal was at the table, working on his book.

"I've got a present for you," she said.

Mal looked up from his work and turned to her. "What is it?"

She reached into her bag and pulled out some files, saying, "Ta da!"

"Um..." he said. "Thanks?"

Martha lowered her arms to her side, tsk-ing as she came to sit beside him. "It's what's _in_ the files," she explained. "I've been thinking about your book. You won't have any hope of publishing it if you don't have the proper credentials. Since you have no birth certificate, license, or anything, really, I've been making inquires around the city to see what we can do to change that. I met the loveliest man who took care of all of that. Now we both actually exist here."

"Why does this say 'Richard Castle'?" he asked, flipping through his papers.

"It was the best the man could do on such short notice," she explained.

"Yours say 'Martha Rodgers', though?" he said, glancing at her license.

"Well," she said, quickly gathering the files together. "Perhaps mine was easier... Anyway, lots of writers have pseudonyms."

She noticed the dark expression on Mal's face. "Are you all right?" she asked, concerned.

"I just don't... I don't want to forget who I am."

"I'll be here to remind you every once in a while," she said, reassuringly taking his hand in hers.

Mal clasped her hand, and said, "Thank you."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

Detective Beckett and Mal had been working on a murder case. Someone had shot three women, leaving their bodies in public areas. They had been following leads for the past few days, and finally narrowed it down to Harold Ferguson, a local barista at a coffee place that each of the women had been discovered to frequent. They finally caught on to Ferguson, and followed him in his car. Kate grew suspicious when Ferguson stopped at a warehouse. She barely heard Mal's derision of such a cliché place to end up. She got out of the car, telling Mal to stay put. She held out her gun, cautiously stepping forward toward the abandoned warehouse's entrance. She scanned the area, but saw nothing. She lowered her gun, frowning. She turned back to the doors, but her path was blocked. Ferguson stood in front of her, using Mal as a hostage.

"Ferguson," said Kate Beckett, raising her gun again. "Just put the gun down. You don't have to do this."

Ferguson laughed, digging his revolver deeper into Mal's back. "What?" he said. "So you're just going to let me walk straight out of here?"

"No," she said. "But if you give yourself up, we can see about cutting a deal with the DA."

"I'm not going to prison," he said. "Put your gun down, detective, or he's dead."

Mal stood with his arm twisted behind his back, and with the gun pressing into his spine. He mentally chided himself for getting out of the car, for not listening to Kate. But since when did he willingly allow someone he cared about to walk straight into a dangerous situation without backup? That was his problem- he got too close to the situation, didn't hear Ferguson sneaking up behind him. He had lost his touch after years of leading a respectable life.

Mal soon became busy contemplating a way to free himself from Feguson's grasp, to knock him out, to steal his gun, and to let Kate arrest him- but the window of opportunity had not yet opened. He wished he had a gun of his own again, but the department wouldn't let him have one for fear of a liability. Well, here was their liability. He looked at Kate, hoping she had his back.

Kate frowned, and slowly lowered her gun to the floor. "Okay," she said.

"Good," Ferguson said. "Now, why don't we-"

He never got to finish his sentence. Mal felt the man's grasp loosen as his body fell heavily to the ground. Mal turned to see a bullet wound in the man's skull. Kate ran to join him.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "I'm fine. But where'd that shot come from?"

"That would be this rifle, Sir," said a mysteriously familiar woman's voice.

Mal turned, and his face went pale. Zoe Washburne marched up to him, nonchalantly carrying a still smoking rifle over her shoulder. Next to her walked Jayne Cobb, his beloved Vera pointed forward.

"Zoe!" said Mal, in absolute shock. He paused for a moment. "What year is this?"

"Good to see you, too, Sir," she said.

"Oh, ain't that nice," said Jayne. "Come all this way and don't even get a hello."

As perplexed as Mal was by his old friends' presense, he was nowhere near as confused as Kate. "Who are you people?" she asked. "Castle, do you know these guys?"

"Can you just give us a second please?" he said to her.

Kate eyed him for a moment before saying, "Fine. But I want to bring them in for questioning later." She gave the two strangers a look as she passed them to stand outside the warehouse.

"What are you two doing here?" Mal asked once Kate was out of range.

"Just following your orders, Sir," said Zoe

"I don't recall giving any lately," said Mal.

"You ever get captured, I should take over the ship, then come and rescue you."

"Well, you took your ruttin' time to find me," a tinge of annoyance in his voice.

"Gorram it, Cap'n," said Jayne. "Do you know how long it took us to get to you? Hell, if Inara hadn't-"

"Inara?" interrupted Mal.

"She used her ties with her Alliance-friendly clientele," Jayne said, a hint of a smirk on his face. "It took her years to find out what really happened to you. It wasn't exactly easy gettin' to ya, you know."

"And all the time I've been here," said Mal, anger slowly flaring up. "I've made a new life for myself. I'm happy... I have a daughter now."

"Daughter?" asked Zoe.

"Her name is Alexis."

"Wouldn't think you'd get married after the last time, Sir."

"It's been my experience," said Mal. "That not every woman is a lying, thieving whore. And I'm pretty sure she even told me her real name." Zoe just looked at him. "Anyway, we got divorced. Just didn't work out. But I can't do this to Alexis. I can't turn her whole world upside down like the Alliance did to me. It wouldn't be fair."

"The Alliance changed things for everyone," said Zoe. "Not just you."

"It's not the same," said Mal. "I've changed... in a different way then the war changed me."

Zoe remained silent, but she gave Mal a look that spoke volumes.

"Dammit," he said, flinging his hands in the air for emphasis, and taking a few steps back. "What do you guys want from me?"

"We want you to come back to Serenity, where you belong," Zoe said, not missing a beat.

Mal, mentally exhausted, rubbed his hands down his face. He looked up at his former crew. "I've missed you all more than anything."

"So let's get a move on back to the ship," said Jayne, starting to move.

"It's not as simple as that," said Mal.

"Sir," said Zoe. "I was standing right beside you that time with the train heist. I remember what you said. Returning stolen medicine to sick peasants wasn't a hard decision to make. This is, and I thought you'd be better than that. I reckon I don't know you as well as I thought I did."

"I reckon you don't," he said.

"So I guess this is it," said Zoe, not showing any signs of hurt. But Mal knew how to read her.

"Zoe, I'm sorry. I just... I'm doing good here."

"You were doing good back home, too. Lot of people still need you. They need a hero."

"You all are hero enough without me," he said.

"I've always counted on you to have my back, Sir," said Zoe.

"You know I do," said Mal, desperation in his voice.

"But now you have other priorities," she said.

"So you never chose Wash over me?" He regreted those words before he even finished saying them.

Zoe gave him a deadly stare. Even Jayne shook his head at him. "Goodbye, Sir," she said. "Sorry to bother you."

She turned, and Jayne followed her as she began to walk away.

"Zoe," Mal called out after her. "I don't need you to carry me."

Zoe stopped, but didn't turn. "No, Sir. You're still running."

Mal watched as they left. He had spent so many years wishing to see them again. After a while, he had lost hope. He built a new life, a good, respectable life. He had friends and a family. Seeing the faces of his crew again brought all of his old pain to the surface. His mended scars became reopened with the idea that they had been searching for him all this time. But he couldn't go with them. He was a man with obligations, with new priorities, and he couldn't let those people down as well.

Zoe and Jayne marched past Kate Beckett. She tried to get them to stop, ask them some questions, but they just kept walking. Kate turned her head to look back into the warehouse. She saw Castle wearing a solemn expression as he stared straight ahead at his disappearing friends. When she turned back to look at the two figures, she was surprised to find that they had completely vanished from sight. She went into the middle of the street, peering down the road, but there was no trace of them. She walked back to Castle. "Okay," she said. "You going to tell me what that was all about?"

"No," he said.

"Castle..."

"I'll tell you when you tell me about your mother," he said. He knew it was a low blow, but he really didn't want to talk about it.

"Fine," she said, walking outside to find her car. Mal found himself alone, in every sense of the word.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Zoe and Jayne walked silently into the dark street. They pressed the buttons on their salvaged time-travel devices and instantly rematerialized on board Serenity. They marched into the kitchen, where they found the rest of the crew. Kaylee was dishing out supper for her three children. Kai, Zoe's son, was chatting with Simon about staff infections. And River sat off to the side, staring silently at her plate. They all looked up as Zoe and Jayne walked through the door.

"Where is he?" asked Kaylee, dropping the serving spoon she held in her hand. "Where's the Cap'n? Oh, God, he ain't... Please tell me he ain't."

"He ain't leavin'," said Jayne, gently placing Vera on the table, right next to the kids. Simon gave him a dirty look.

"What?" asked Kaylee.

"He has a family now," said Zoe.

"He used to think of us as family, too," said Kaylee, heartbroken. "Don't that mean anything?"

"Apparently not," said Zoe, sitting beside her son, and pulling an empty plate in front of her. She took off her time travel device and tossed it on to the table. She would have to remember to thank Badger later... Or probably sooner, knowing him.

"So after all that," said Kai. "He's not even coming back? I've been hearing about the Captain basically all my life! You guys spent all this time and effort trying to find him, and now you're just gonna leave him where he is?"

"He made his decision," said Zoe.

"River," Simon spoke up, deciding it would be better to change the subject. "Why aren't you eating?"

"It's not ready," she replied.

"What are you taking about?" asked Simon. "It's all cooked."

"It's not ready to be called food," said River. "It still needs time to adjust." Simon just stared at her. After a brief pause, she added, "And I'm not hungry yet."

"Oh."

"So what's our next move?" asked Jayne.

"There ain't none," said Zoe.

"What?" said Kaylee. "So we're just gonna leave him?"

"It's what he wants," Zoe said.

"But it ain't what he needs," said Kaylee. "It ain't what _we_ need."

Zoe suddenly arose from her seat and left the kitchen. Everyone watched silently until she was out of sight.

Kai spoke up, almost apologetically, saying, "They must have been close."

"They fought together in the war," Simon said. "She told me about it once. He was her sergeant. They literally lived through hell together."

"Simon," Kaylee suddenly spoke up. "It's up to you now."

"Me?" said Simon, shocked.

"You gotta try."

"Look, Kaylee," he said. "I know it's been a while, but, if you recall, the Captain never really used to listen to me. I'm not totally sure he even liked me."

"But Zoe's being too stubborn to do anything more," said Kaylee. "Please, Simon."

It always surprised Simon how easily he could be talked into doing things he wouldn't normally do; however, he realized, he would usually only go through with it for the people he cared about.

He looked at Kaylee, then at River. Mal had done so much to protect he and River, though he had no obligation to do so. Mal may have been intimidating some of the time, most of the time, but he had a good heart and would always do the decent thing. It was now Simon's turn to repay him for all his kindness, by bringing him back home.

He sighed and reached across the table for Zoe's time travel device. Kaylee let out a cry of glee and hugged Simon tightly. "Thank you!"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

Mal walked through his front door. He was immediately struck by the sight of Martha and Alexis, dressed in wigs and robes, standing over by the sofa, reciting lines from scripts.

When they noticed him, both stopped. Alexis gave him a big smile and said, "Hi, Dad." Then she looked at him. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he said. "I'm fine."

"Then why the expression that reads 'someone just gave my latest novel a god-awful review?'" said Martha.

"Can we just drop it?" said Mal, irritated. He then went straight to his bedroom and slammed the door.

Alexis and Martha exchanged glances. "Do you think something happened with the case?" said Alexis. "Maybe we should call Detective Beckett?" Martha went to grab the phone. "Should I go talk to him?" Alexis asked.

That's when Mal opened his door and walked calmly back into the room. Martha put the phone back down. "Look," Mal said. "I'm sorry about before. I just had a really rough day, but I'm good now."

"You sure?" asked Alexis.

"Yeah," he said.

Alexis gave her father a hug. "Good. Because I don't like seeing you like that."

"I know," said Mal. He paused for a moment. "So what's for dinner?"

Alexis smiled and went to the fridge to take out the plate she had saved for him.

–

Later, after Alexis had retreated to her room, Mal sat alone with Martha in the living room.

"They found me," Mal suddenly said.

"What?" asked Martha, confused.

"My crew," he explained. "They tracked me down, and now they want me to come back with them."

"Back to our own time?" said Martha, beginning to understand.

"Yup," he said.

"What did you tell them?" she asked.

"I told them I couldn't."

"Why?" asked Martha.

Mal was silent.

"Richard..." she said, grabbing hold of his arm.

"That's not my name!" he said, shoving her away.

"Mal," she corrected herself. It seemed strange on her tongue; she hadn't used it in years. "Isn't this what you wanted? To go home?"

"I am home," he said.

"But it's not real," she said. "You're not Richard Castle, and I'm not your mother."

"I know that," he said. "But Alexis _is_ my daughter; I can't just... I can't let her know that I've been lying to her all these years."

"She's a big girl," said Martha. "Maybe it's time she knew the truth."

"She wouldn't believe me," he said. "And if she did, would she forgive me?"

Martha was about to answer, but their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Who in the world...?" muttered Martha as she arose from her seat.

She opened the door to a pale, dark-haired, nervous-looking man. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'm looking for-"

"Doc?" Mal interrupted, suddenly standing.

"Captain!" said Simon, shocked to actually see Mal after all this time.

Mal became speechless at seeing the good doctor standing at his doorstep. They stared at each other in silence for a few moments. It was finally Martha who spoke up. "I take it you two know each other," she said. "Please, come in."

"Thank you," Simon nodded as he walked through the threshold.

The two men just stared at each other silently. Martha watched them, cleared her throat, and suddenly said, "Well, I think I'll just leave you two boys alone."

Once Martha was gone, the room was completely silent. After a pause, Mal sighed, and said, "Have a seat."

Simon gave a silent nod and went over to a chair. Mal sat across from him, and Simon felt all the same uneasiness that he used to get when around the man. Mal stared at him, and could instantly see the tension running through the doctor's mind.

"I gotta admit, doctor," Mal began. "You're the last person I thought to see."

"I'm full of surprises," Simon said in a steady voice.

"I hate to tell you, though," Mal said. "But you wasted a trip. I'm not comin' back."

"That's a shame," said Simon. "Because everyone was kind of hoping that you would." He paused and let out a sigh. "But I never really thought that I would be able to convince you. It's just that Kaylee wanted me to."

"How is little Kaylee?"

"She's good," said Simon. "We got married, and have three children: two boys and a girl."

"Kaylee's a mother?" Mal said, incredulous. He let out a small chuckle.

"She misses you. She wishes you had been at our wedding."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there. Believe me, I am."

"So why won't you come back?" Simon asked. "Zoe mentioned something about a family...?"

"I have a daughter," he said. "Alexis is her name. She doesn't know, and I don't want her to know. I don't want Alexis to be a witness to my follies, to all the unforgivable things I've done."

"What about all the people you've helped?" said Simon.

"Tell that to Book," Mal said, bitterly. "Or Wash."

"But if it wasn't for you, for Serenity," said Simon. "Wash and Zoe would never have met. They never would have shared all those happy memories. And what about me and Kaylee? And then there's Jayne and Inara."

"What?" Mal said, somewhere between a yell and a gasp.

"I'm just kidding," said Simon, the slightest smile on his lips.

"I see you've finally developed a sense of humor," Mal muttered.

Just then, they both turned as they heard footsteps. Alexis was walking to the kitchen, but stopped when she saw the unfamiliar company.

"Oh, sorry," she said.

"No," said Mal. "Alexis, come here. There's an old friend I'd like you to meet." She came to join the small party, and shook the man's hand.

"Hi, I'm Alexis."

"Simon."

"So... you know my dad?" she asked.

"Yeah," said Simon. "We go way back."

"Well, you should come by more often then," she said, and gave a pretty smile.

"We'll see."

"It was nice to meet you, Simon," she said.

"You, too." Alexis then disappeared back into her room.

"She seems very nice," Simon said, once Alexis was gone.

"Yeah. She's a good girl. Has a lot of potential."

They were both quiet for a moment before Simon spoke again. "I know what's it's like to give up everything you thought you wanted for the sake of someone you love."

"Then you understand why I won't come back," Mal said.

"I do," said Simon. "But at the same time, I think you're wrong."

"Why should I go back?" he said, in a way that almost sounded like he wanted a good answer.

"Because we're still flying," Simon answered.

"That ain't much."

"It's enough."

"Not anymore," Mal said, his eyes glancing towards a nearby photo of Alexis.

Simon slowly shook his head and rose from his seat. "I'm sorry I couldn't convince you."

_Me, too_, thought Mal, but he didn't say so out loud. Instead, he just showed Simon to the door.

"Goodbye, then," said Simon.

"Wait," Mal said suddenly, and for a moment Simon thought the captain had changed his mind. Instead, though, he watched as Mal ran to his fridge and came back holding a container of strawberries. "For Kaylee," he explained. "We got them plentiful over here."

"Thanks," said Simon. "I know she'll love these."

"I do miss all of you," Mal confessed. "But I just can't."

"Then I guess this is goodbye."

"Guess so," said Mal. He then watched as Simon rolled up the cuff on his left sleeve and revealed a small device. He punched a few buttons and vanished before Mal's eyes, like a hologram... or like a ghost from the past.

* * *

_A/N: Hey. I know there's a lot of dialogue and angst, but very little action. I don't think anyone's brought this point up yet, but I wanted to let anyone who is interested know that I will be introducing a case for Beckett and Mal/Castle to work on soon, maybe in a chapter or two._


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Hey, sorry this one took longer to get to than the other chapters. I'm also sorry that this one is a little short. But I hope you enjoy it all the same.

* * *

Chapter 6:

Serenity landed on the planet Ariel to pick up a familiar passenger. Inara Serra stepped board, holding herself with an air of regality that graced her with every movement. She alone brought respectability to this ship of misfits.

"Inara," said Kaylee, as she stood waiting to greet her in the cargo bay.

"Hello, Kaylee," said Inara.

"How did your license renewal go?" Kaylee asked.

"Just fine," she said. "Anything happen while I was away?"

Though Inara spoke as nonchalantly as possible, she asked this knowing perfectly well what the plan had been. Her companion's license still had another month to it, but she told her friends that she had to leave sooner; she couldn't stand to be there when _he_ returned. She couldn't show emotion, couldn't break down in front of him. She never could, and she wouldn't now.

Which was why she was completely taken aback when Kaylee said in a sad tone, "He didn't want to come back."

"What?" Inara said.

"He just... said no."

"And we're going to respect his decision," said Zoe, coming down the stairs.

Kaylee frowned, but was silent. Inara was also silent, but because words escaped her.

"Inara!"

The shouting of children's voices brought her back from her reverie. Two boys ran up to her with a small girl trailing behind them.

"What a welcome!" Inara said in a playful tone to Kaylee's children.

"Did you get us anything?" asked the taller of the boys, who had dark, thick hair like his father.

"_Daniel_," scolded his mother. "Don't be rude."

"Sorry," he said.

"It's okay," said Inara. "And... in fact, I did manage to pick something up when I was planet-side." She said this while pulling out a big object covered in a sheet.

"Them Ariel boys ain't as clean as you thought, huh?" said Jayne, entering the cargo bay.

"Don't be disgusting, Jayne," said Inara, rolling her eyes.

"What?" he said, looking around as though he had no idea what he did that was wrong.

"Anyway..." said Inara. "Ta da!" She pulled the sheet off and revealed a parakeet inside of a metal bird cage.

"Whoa!" all three children chimed at once, eyes shining bright.

"What do you say?" said Kaylee, in a motherly tone.

"Thank you."

"Can we show daddy?" Vicki asked her mother.

"Um... yes. But later. Why don't you go show your Aunt River?"

"Okay," she said. Daniel grabbed hold of the cage, and the three went off in search of their aunt.

"Where is Simon, anyway?" asked Zoe.

Kaylee knew there was no point in lying about it. "Now don't get mad," she said. "But he took one of the devices and went to talk with the Capt'n."

"I though I made it clear that we should leave it be?" said Zoe, a little more than miffed.

"I know..." said Kaylee. "But we couldn't just give up on him after all we've been through to find him."

"I'm in command," said Zoe. "And I except my orders to be obeyed."

Kaylee listened. Although she disagreed, she didn't want to argue about it any more.

Inara also listened. And when she couldn't take it any more, she made an excuse to leave to her quarters.

* * *

The kids walked excitedly yet carefully, being sure not to harm their new pet. When they reached the outside of their aunt's door, Joey knocked with a bit of impatience to reveal Inara's present.

River opened her door and smiled. "What's this?" she asked.

"It's a pairkeet," said young Vicki.

"That's _parakeet_," corrected Daniel, with the air of knowledge that could only be found in first-born boys when talking to their younger siblings.

"Isn't it pretty, though?" she asked.

River knelt down so that she was eye level with the parakeet. She ran her fingers down the cage, slowly following the lines of the bronze. She watched as the bird flitted around in its cage, but eventually had to resolve to just sitting on its perch. "Poor little bird," she said. "He spreads his wings, but has forgotten how to fly."

* * *

Back on Earth in the 21st century, Mal was sitting in his kitchen eating breakfast when he got a call from Beckett.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

Mal walked past the police tape surrounding St. Paul's Church. Upon entering, he spotted Detectives Ryan and Esposito in the aisles taking statements from witnesses. Mal went down the nave to where Kate Beckett and the medical examiner Lanie Parish were standing by the pulpit in front of the altar.

"What've we got here?" he asked, noticing the corpse slumped over the pulpit.

"Reverend Timothy Douglas," said Kate without any flourish.

"Victim was stabbed multiple times to the chest with a sharp, thin blade," added Lanie, who was observing Douglas' corpse. "What's interesting, though, is that he cut around the heart, circling it, but never touching the heart itself."

"Huh," was all Mal remarked.

"What?" chided Beckett. "No snarky comments?"

"A man of god was murdered in a place that's supposed to provide a feeling of peace and safety," he said.

"I never knew you were a religious man, Castle."

"I'm not," he said bluntly, too quickly to ignore if there hadn't been other pressing matters.

It was then that Ryan and Esposito joined them. "A local newsstand owner witnessed a tall hooded figure leave the church at about a quarter past eight," Ryan explained, reading from his notebook. "He said that he remembered thinking it was odd that the guy was running and even banged into a streetlight because he wasn't looking. But he didn't think much of it since so many people come in and out all the time."

"A lot of homeless and junkies like to come here for a safe haven," Esposito explained. "Other witnesses also corroborate that they saw the same guy at around the same time and that he was the last one to come in or leave until the victim was found."

"But what's the point of taking the effort to stab so many times, when one quick one to the heart would have done the trick?" asked Kate.

"Maybe he wanted the reverend to feel it longer, to suffer?" said Mal.

"Then why so careful not to touch the heart itself?" she said.

"What if," said Castle, taking a moment to think. "What if the murderer wasn't just using the knife to stab him, what if he was trying to cut the victim's heart out?"

"Okay, let's let forensics finish up here," said Kate. "We'll head back to the station and piece together everything we know about this guy."

Castle nodded in silence. And as he turned to leave with her, all he could think was: _Shouldn't have __been you._

And a familiar voice echoed back to him:_ Coming from you, that means almost nothing._

_

* * *

_

When Simon returned to Serenity, he found everyone in the kitchen.

"You're back," greeted Kaylee. "What happened?"

"He, uh, he said he wasn't going to come," said Simon.

"I already told you," said Zoe. "He doesn't want to come."

"That's not what he said," said Simon, with more surety this time. "He just said he _wouldn't_. But I think he wants to... It's just that Alexis-"

"Who's Alexis?" asked Inara.

"His daughter," said Simon. "He doesn't want to hurt her, for her to know he's been lying to her."

"His daughter?" Inara repeated slowly.

"I met her for a second," he said. "She's nice. In her late teens by the look of her." He paused for a moment, remembering he was holding something. "He told me to give you these," he told Kaylee, handing her the container of strawberries.

She took them silently, holding back the tears in her eyes. Suddenly strawberries didn't seem so appetizing right now. "Wait," she said, realizing what her husband had just told them. "So he does want to come back?"

"I think that if we persuaded him, then he would come. I think he's afraid."

"What would he have to be afraid of?" asked Inara.

"The same thing that I was afraid of after I saved River from the Alliance," Simon said, looking intently at his sister who sat quietly before him. "Losing her again."

"I think the question is," said Kai, looking around the room. "Do you guys even want him back after all this? Why go to all this trouble to convince him if he's so against the idea?"

Everyone in the room was silent for a moment. Then Zoe spoke, surprising everyone. "Because he's a good man," she said. "He's been there was for us time and time again. And when he finally needed us, we let him down. And now he's lost; and it's our job to get him to stop running away and to help him find his way again."

Kai nodded. He knew that Mal and his mother had been through a lot together. He was her sergeant in the war against the Alliance, a war so bloody and with so many innocent lives lost. And when the fighting was over, they were all just left there, wounded and sick and dying. Kai once asked his mother how someone could name his ship after something that brought him so much pain. She told him, "Once you've been in Serenity, you never leave. You just learn to live there." But he knew that Zoe lived there just as much as Mal did; and if it wasn't for the captain, she would have been lost in it the same as so many others.

"So what's the plan?" Kai asked.

* * *

A/N: Zoe's answer to Kai about why Mal named the ship Serenity was taken from an unaired scene from the pilot episode in a conversation between Zoe and Simon.

And for those who don't remember or know, the familiar voice that Mal heard was Shepherd Book from a conversation they had in the movie.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

"Wait!" said Inara. The conversation of how to get Mal to come back had started to turn in a direction she was not enjoying. "Now hold on just one minute..."

"Yeah," said Kaylee. "If anyone could convince the Cap'n to come back to Serenity, it's Inara. Those two've been carrying a torch for each other for years."

"I have not..." stammered Inara. "I... well..."

"It's no use lying to us, Inara," said Kaylee, a wide grin on her face. "Just admit it."

"I won't admit to anything of the sort," said Inara, trying to hold on to her dignity. "However, I will go see Mal. But only because he belongs back on Serenity, and not because I have feelings for him, which I don't."

"Sure..."

* * *

"It was an Aztec priest," said Mal, turning to Beckett, who had just gotten off the phone with the coroner.

"What?"

"Ancient Aztec's performed human sacrifices by removing the person's heart and then burning their body," he explained.

"Lovely," she grimaced. "But I doubt it."

They walked down the hall and over to the board which contained all the information about the crime scene.

"We finally sifted through all the regular members of the church," said Detective Ryan. "Which is about fifty families. Crossing out all youths and elderly, those who were at work, out of town, or any other alibi. That narrows it to about seventeen people."

"Okay," said Kate. "I guess that's better than nothing. We'll split the list up. Ryan and Esposito: you take the first half. Castle and I'll take the rest."

* * *

"Remember," said Kate. "We're just here for routine door-to-door inquiries. We don't have a warrant yet, so one slip-up could lose us an arrest."

"Gotcha," said Mal.

They stood outside as Kate pressed the buzzer to the apartment. "Yes?" came the crackly voice through the intercom.

"NYPD," said Kate. "We were wondering, Mr. Newton, if you could help us answer questions about the death of Reverend Douglas?"

When they were buzzed up to the apartment, Kate flashed her badge, while Mal flashed his driver's license. "Mr. Augustus Newton?" asked Kate, stepping into the apartment. The space was nothing remarkable, beige and bland. The owner was nothing remarkable, either: average height, thin, dark hair, glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

"It's a shame about the reverend," said Augustus, shaking his head forlornly.

"Did you know him well?" asked Kate.

"No," said Augustus. "Not really; though, he did visit me last year when I broke my leg."

"How'd you manage that?" asked Mal.

"I tripped going down the escalator at a department store."

"Good thing you weren't going up," said Mal. "Could have gone on for days."

Kate gave Mal a dirty look before turning back to Augustus. "Just as a formality, can I ask you where you were at a quarter past eight last Wednesday morning?"

"I was with Madeleine," he answered.

"Who's Madeleine?" asked Kate.

"My dog," he said. "We were having a walk in the park." As if he uttered the magic word, a small basset hound ran into the living room, yapping in excitement.

"No, Madeleine," Augustus reprimanded, shaking his finger at her. "No walk right now." He then turned back to Kate and Mal. "Very smart animals these bassets, you know. And a keen sense of smell; that's why they're such great hunters. But did you know that their long ears make them prone to ear disease, and if their ears are allowed to dangle on the ground or in food on a daily basis they are capable of developing chronic and potentially fatal ear diseases."

"That's, uh, that's real interesting," said Mal.

"I know!" said Augustus. "And did you know that because of their droopy eyes, the area under the eyeball will collect dirt and become clogged with a mucus?"

"Can't say I did," said Mal.

"Pardon me, Mr. Newton," said Kate. "But we have a lot of other people to visit today."

"Oh, of course," he said. "If you have any more questions-"

"We'll be sure to call," said Kate, practically pushing herself and Mal out the door.


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: 10/06/2010, slight editing of this chapter.

* * *

Chapter 9:

It was mid-afternoon when Mal and Beckett found themselves in a tastefully decorated condo, sitting on an imitation Mies sofa. Across from them, sat a thin man of average height. He had dark hair, matching the color of the sofa, except for a few wisps of gray forming around his sideburns. Of course, Mal could not have written of a more stereotypical figure and living environment, and wondered if the man was as two-dimensional as he seemed at first glance.

"Did you know the reverend well at all, Mr. Saxon?" Kate asked the man.

"Please, call me Fred," the man said with a half-smile that quickly fell into a frown. Fred immediately turned his eyes away from the two investigators with a distant expression on his face. "But I did know the reverend, yes. When my poor wife Gwen fell ill, he visited her frequently; he gave us comfort and hope. Unfortunately, our prayers weren't answered, and she passed away only a few short months ago."

"Our deepest sympathies," said Mal.

"Thank you," he said, nodding slowly in response.

"How regularly do you attend church?"

"Not as often as I used to, I must confess," said Fred. "It's hard to be there, to hear him speak the same words he spoke to Gwen and me. But I suppose I've thrown myself into my work more to compensate. The reverend tried to bring me back into the fold, but he didn't succeed."

"What do you do for a living?" asked Kate.

"I manage a store. We sell a variety of goods, like clothing, home décor, kitchen appliances and utensils, toiletries, and things like that. It keeps me pretty busy."

"I think that's all the questions we have for the time being," Kate said, rising from the sofa. Mal copied her actions. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Saxon."

Once they were out on the street, Mal remarked, "Why would anyone want to kill Reverend Douglas? Everyone we've seen today remarked on how great of a guy he was. He visited everyone when they were sick, and comforted them when they were depressed."

"If we knew why he was murdered, Castle, then it would make our investigation go a whole lot quicker," said Kate. "This isn't like one of your novels where a huge clue just appears at our feet."

"Hey," Mal said, defensively. "That only happened to Derrick Storm once, and it turned out to be bogus."

"Whatever, Castle..." Kate replied, rolling her eyes.

Their next stop was an apartment above a Chinese restaurant. They walked up the stairs, trying not to touch the dingy, peeling wallpaper as they ascended. They reached the door and Kate knocked four times, but to no answer. "Mr. Cartwright?" she called out. There was no response. She called out again. Again, she was greeted with silence. She jiggled the handle, but it was locked. She finally slammed into the door, easily breaking the lock. Kate cautiously pointed her gun forward before taking a step into the apartment. Again, she called out Mr. Cartwright's name, but it was clear that no one was home. In fact, it looked like whoever had last been there had left in quite a hurry. The place was in shambles. Kate finally lowered her gun. Mal whistled from behind her, and then said, "This place could sure use a maid... or a demolition crew." He kicked away an old shirt that was lying carelessly on the floor. Wandering around, he noticed a tear-away calendar on a side table.

"Look at this," he said to Kate.

"What about it?" asked Kate, coming to stand beside him.

"Check out the date," said Mal.

Kate studied the calendar for a moment. "The date of the murder!"

"He must have high-tailed it out of here after he murdered the reverend," said Mal. "So he wouldn't have been here to update his calendar."

But Kate was already making the call. "Call out an APB on a James Cartwright, wanted for murder..."

As Kate did her thing, Mal looked around the small, messy apartment and sighed. They finally had the suspect... they just didn't know why he did it or where to find him. Well, one step at a time, he supposed. After all, it wouldn't make for a good story to solve the crime so quickly.

* * *

Meanwhile, Inara unfolded the piece of paper she had gripped in her hand. She silently read out the address, and then folded up the paper again. She looked around, taking in the atmosphere of the city. It was not unlike any of the other cities she had frequented on the core planets, but there was definitely a genteel attitude that she was used to missing from the busy, garbage-filled streets of New York. Though she was a bit frightened to be out of her comfort zone, she bore herself up with the grace and dignity she always tried to possess under even the most miserable of circumstances.


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: I want to give a special thanks to WhiteKingdomAngel for your help with all the Chinese translations! You are so awesome! Oh, and I put all the English translations at the bottom of the chapter for all those who don't speak any Chinese (except, I'm sure, for all you Browncoats who have learned all the curse words...)

* * *

Chapter 10:

That same day, Cartwright's apartment was swarming with officers. Ryan and Esposito were down in the restaurant, trying to get the owner, also the suspect's landlady, to answer their questions.

"How's it going down here?" Beckett asked when she and Mal came downstairs.

"Oh, it's going great," said Esposito. "Aside from the fact that the person we're trying to question only speaks Chinese."

"So get one of the others here to help translate," said Kate.

"No one's admitting to understanding us," said Ryan. "Even though there are a few that seem to be looking at us like they do. I think they're just annoyed that we forced them to close up early."

Kate sighed and raised her arms in an attempt to get attention. "Listen up," she called out. "This is a serious matter. If anyone speaks English, I need you to come forward. Not doing so could be construed as hindering a police investigation."

All eyes were on Kate, but the room was silent, until Mal suddenly decided to step forward. "You know, I can speak Chinese," he said, hesitantly raising his hand.

"You speak Chinese?" Kate asked, incredulous.

"Yeah," said Mal.

"Well, then go right ahead," said Kate, motioning for Mal to step forward.

Mal came to sit across from the landlady, Mrs. Chen, who was seated at one of the tables. She didn't seem too happy about all the commotion.

"Zǎoshang hǎo, Chén tàitài," said Mal. "Wǒ de míngzì shì ruì kè chéngbǎo."

"Zǎo ān," she said tersely.

"Zhè shì yīgè kěài de wéijīn nǐ chuān," he said.

"Xièxiè," she said, pulling her shawl tighter around her shoulders. "Wǒ de nǚér duì wǒ lái shuō."

"Tā fēicháng yǒu cáihuá. Nǐ yīnggāi gǎndào zìháo."

"Wǒ. Tā shìgè hǎo gūniang." Mrs. Chen smiled, letting Mal know that now she would be more compliant.

"Wǒmen hěn bàoqiàn yào zhànyòng nǐ de shíjiān zhème duō," Mal said. "Dàn wǒmen zhǐshì duì zhānmǔsī kǎtè lài tè de yīxiē wèntí. Nǐ néng gàosu wǒmen guānyú tā de dōngxi?"

"Tā duì zūjīn běn yuè xiàxún; suīrán, tā de tōngcháng shíjiān, suǒyǐ wǒ ràng tā huá. Tā xǐhuan fù xiànjīn. Tā shì yīgè fēicháng ānjìng de rén."

"Castle, what is she saying to you?" Kate interrupted.

"Tā zhīfù de xiànjīn ma?" Mal asked, paying no attention to Kate. "Nǐ zhīdào tā de shēnghuó yīyàng ma?"

"Wǒ rènwéi tā shìgè yóudìyuán..." Mrs. Chen answered. "Dàn tā tígōng de, wǒ bù zhīdào."

"Chú zūjīn wài, nǐ fāxiàn shénme qíguài de?" Mal asked her.

"Ń..." she considered. "Yǒu yīgè qíguài de rén, dào zuìhòu yīzhōu lái yǔ tā shuōhuà. Tā kàn zhe chuānzhuó tǐmiàn de hé hǎo, suǒyǐ wǒ bù zhīdào tā wèishéme zài zhèlǐ jǔ háng huìyì."

"Castle!" Kate said through gritted teeth, trying to get Mal's attention again.

"Sorry, yeah?" Mal said, turning to her.

"What's she saying?" Kate asked again.

"Apparently," he explained. "Cartwright is some sort of delivery boy who likes to pay his rent in cash. He was late in his payment this month, though. But the best part is that he seems to have had a mysterious visitor stop by his place the other week."

"Ask her if she knows of any of Cartwright's friends?" Kate instructed him. "Somebody he might crash with while he lays low."

"Nǐ zhīdào rúguǒ yǒu rènhé mìqiè kǎtè lài tè xiānshēng xiàng shi? Rènhé nǐ jiàn guò shuí yòng le hěnduō ne?"

"Zhè shì wǒ jiàn guò guòlái dàitì tā de nǚrén bù shǎo zuìjìn, yīgè niánqīng de hēi fǎ."

"Nǐ zhīdào tā de míngzì?" Mal asked.

"Duìbùqǐ, méiyǒu."

"Looks like Jimmy-boy has a girlfriend," Mal explained to Kate.

At that point, one of the officers checking the apartment came down to show Kate a picture of the suspect with a young brunette. "We think her name is Heather Donovan," the officer explained.

"All right," said Kate. "Let's find Heather."

"Xièxiè nín de shíjiān, Chén tàitài," Mal said to Mrs. Chen. "Ér yíhàn de rènhé bùbiàn."

"Méi wèntí," she said.

* * *

Inara nodded politely to the doorman as she walked past into the lobby of the Manhattan condo building. There was a bored looking man at the front desk that, as soon as he spotted Inara, straightened his posture.

"May I help you?" he asked Inara.

"I hope so," Inara said. "I'm looking for M... _Richard Castle_."

"Are you a friend?" he asked.

"You could say that."

"If you'll just wait one moment, I'll phone upstairs." Inara smiled in response. The man picked up the phone and waited for a few moments before returning it to the receiver. "I'm sorry, but no one seems to be at home."

"That's all right," said Inara. "If you just tell me what floor they live on-"

"I'm sorry," he said. "But you'll have to wait down here. You say you're a friend, but perhaps you are actually a persistent fan. You understand how it is...?"

"_Persistent fan_?" said Inara chuckled. "Hardly."

"Mr. Castle's books are very popular, especially among women."

"His books? Inara asked, disbelieving. "_He's an author_?"

"Have you been living on another planet?" asked the man.

"I... Well..." Inara stammered, too confused for her own good. Luckily, she didn't have to explain herself because Alexis had just walked through the door.

"Excuse me, Miss," the man called out to her. Alexis stopped and turned.

"This lady here says she knows your father," he explained.

"You know my dad?" Alexis asked Inara.

It took a moment for Inara to answer. She brought her hands to her mouth in shock and excitement. _This_ was Mal's daughter! Inara studied her petite figure, alabaster skin, and long red hair neatly kept in a pony tail. She inexplicably had to hold back her own tears. But she quickly composed herself.

"Yes," she answered. If there was a slight twinge to her voice, it went unexamined. "I knew him a very long time ago. My name is Inara Serra."

"Well," Alexis said. "He should be back soon, if you'd like to come up with me and wait?"

"That would be lovely," Inara smiled.

"Great," Alexis said cheerfully, guiding Inara to the elevators. Inara followed behind Alexis, taking in everything she could about the girl who unknowingly kept Mal rooted to his new home, a place of ancient myth and legend, a planet slowly headed for destruction.

* * *

_English translations in order of dialogue_:

"Good morning, Mrs Chen. My name is Rick Castle."

"Good morning."

"That's a lovely shawl you're wearing."

"Thank you. My daughter made it for me."

"She's very talented. You should be proud."

"I am. She's a good girl."

"We're sorry to be taking up so much of your time, but we just have some questions about James Cartwright. Can you tell us anything about him?"

"He's late with the rent this month; though, he's usually on time, so I've let it slide. He likes to pay in cash. He's a very quite man."

"He pays in cash? Do you know what he does for a living?"

"I think he's a delivery man... But what he delivers, I'm not sure."

"Other than the rent, have you noticed anything strange?"

"Well... there was a strange man that came by last week to speak with him. He looked respectable and well dressed, so I wondered why he was meeting here."

(After Mal explains to Kate):

"Do you know if Mr. Cartwright has any close acquaintances? Anyone who you've seen him with a lot?"

"Well, there is this woman I've seen come around to his place quite a lot recently, a young brunette."

"Do you know her name?"

"Sorry, no."

(After the officer speaks to Kate):

"Thank you for your time, Mrs. Chen. And sorry for any inconvenience."

"That's all right."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

"So how do you know my dad?" Alexis asked, as she offered Inara the sofa.

Inara sat down and Alexis joined her at a nearby chair. "We..." She honestly hadn't considered the possibility that she would need to explain herself to anyone besides Mal. "Used to live near each other. And I was in the neighborhood, so I thought I'd stop by to say hello. I probably should have called first, but I wanted to surprise him."

"I'm sure he'll be glad to see you," said Alexis.

"He's... never mentioned me, has he?" Inara ventured to ask.

"No," said Alexis, delving into the back of her mind. "I don't think so." But then she considered that perhaps that wasn't what Inara wanted to hear, so she added, "But my dad hasn't told me about a lot of his old girlfriends."

"Oh," said Inara. "I'm not-"

She was cut off by the sound of the front door opening and then closing again. A woman entered, went over to the kitchen counter, and slumped down exhausted onto the nearest stool.

"Hey, Gram," said Alexis.

"Hello, darling. You would not believe the day I had!" She then looked up and noticed the unknown guest watching her curiously from the sofa. "I'm sorry," said Martha. "I didn't realize there was company." She promptly stood up and walked over to shake Inara's hand. "I'm Martha Rogers, Alexis' grandmother."

"Inara Serra," said Inara. "It's a pleasure. So you're Alexis' mother's mother?"

"No," she said. "I'm Richard's mother."

"I'm sorry," said Inara. "But I'm confused. How can you be his mother?"

Martha, remembering Simon's recent visit, figured out what was happening straight away. She covered it up by answering, "I know. I've been blessed with perfect skin; it runs in the family... and a few face-lifts never hurt." She then grabbed Alexis' arm and pushed her out. "Alexis, can you excuse us for a few minutes, please?" Alexis, thoroughly confused, went to her room with little protest.

Once Alexis was out of sight, Martha turned back to the visitor. "You're one of them, aren't you?" she said. "One of his crew."

"Technically," Inara said. "I'm not crew, but I do live aboard Serenity. But who are you? Because you certainly can't be his mother..." She then added a bit hesitantly, "Can you?"

"No," said Martha, smiling sadly. "I was the Alliance officer sent here with him. But we've become very close over the years. Sometimes I forget he isn't really my son."

"You're Alliance?" said Inara.

"Not for a very long time," said Martha.

"I just can't believe it, though," Inara murmured to herself.

"We all have past regrets," said Martha. "And I know you agree because that's obviously why you're here."

"I'm here because Mal should be back in his own time, with his friends, his family."

"But he is with his family," said Martha. "And he has plenty of people here that care about him just as much as his old crew. Not only that, but he's made a respectable life for himself; what does he have waiting for him back with you, besides a life of crime?"

"He did more than just crime," said Inara, indignant. "Many times, he showed the only compassion some back-water planets ever received; Mal helped those whom the Alliance forgot, even if it meant a bit of thievery and cunning."

"He sounds like a regular modern-day Robin Hood," said Martha. "But if he were to return, would it be to the same place he left? Surely life went on without him."

"The Alliance fell," said Inara. "It started with the revelation of Miranda, which would never have happened without Mal. After the destruction of war, the planets are finally starting to build themselves up again. There's so much opportunity for good, but at the same time, also for so much corruption. We need someone like Mal around; we need someone like him to lead us through the chaos."

Even as she spoke them, she was surprised at her own words. She didn't know where they came from, but she knew for sure that she would never have said any of this directly to Mal himself. Perhaps that was why she was never able to fully figure him out... because they could never be completely open with each other. But, if she was going to be completely honest with herself at that moment, she would admit to suddenly succumbing to a bit of doubt: who was she to say what was best for Mal? But at the same time, was it really about Mal? Or was it about those who truly needed him? And it was that thought that urged Inara to continue defending her point.

"How great of a leader was he, though," countered Martha. "If he couldn't inspire others to fend for themselves?"

"He inspired us to have confidence in ourselves," said Inara. "To be better people than we once thought we could be. We don't need him to lead us into battle, but we need him to remind us that there is still a battle to be fought."

"I thought that's what you were here to remind him, though?" said Martha. Inara stared at her, but this time, she didn't answer.

The thick silence was suddenly interrupted by the phone ringing. Martha went to answer it. "Richard... Wait, listen... Hold on... But..." She then hung up the phone and sighed, turning back to Inara. "That was Richard... _Mal_. He said they have a lead on the case they're working on, and won't be back until much later."

"I thought he was supposed to be an author?" said Inara.

"He is," explained Martha. "But he also helps the police with their homicide cases."

"See," said Inara, standing up. "Even after all this time, he still can't not help people that need him. Now, how do I get to the police station?"

* * *

Mal and Kate stood at the front door to Heather Donovan's apartment.

"Ms. Donovan?" said Kate, knocking on the door. "Open up, NYPD. Ms. Donovan?"

No answer, then a muffled crash. Kate tried the knob, but it was locked. She slammed into the door, breaking it down. Brandishing her gun, she rushed into the apartment just in time to catch a glimpse of James Cartwright trying to leave through the fire escape while Heather looked on in panic.

"Hold it right there."


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: 10/06/2010, slight editing of the end of the chapter.

* * *

Chapter 12:

"I told you before," James Cartwright pleaded inside the interrogation room. "I didn't kill anyone!"

"Then why were you trying to disappear?" asked Beckett.

"I wasn't... I..." he faltered. "I thought you were after me."

"You'd have no reason to think we were after you unless you did something wrong," said Mal.

"I didn't kill anyone!" he said again.

"You already said that," said Beckett. "So why have you been camping out at your girlfriend's place since the very night of the murder of Reverend Timothy Douglas of St. Paul's Church, of which you are a member?"

"Why would I want to hurt the Reverend?" said Cartwright. "He was a pretty decent guy."

"Eyewitnesses are willing to testify that about a month ago you were seen in a heated discussion with Reverend Douglas."

"What, did he dis the Yankees?" Mal added, not quite helpfully.

"He was just concerned about me," Cartwright said, his head turned away.

"And why was that?" asked Beckett.

"I sort of... fell in with the wrong crowd," he conceded.

"The mysterious visitor that stopped by your apartment the other week...?" Mal offered, remembering what Mrs. Chen had told him.

Cartwright stared at Mal silently, and with a look of dread written across his features. Kate noticed this, and decided to take advantage when he was feeling most vulnerable.

"Come on, Cartwright," she said. "Whatever you did wrong, it's got to be a lot better than standing accused of murder. This is your last chance to fess up. So, for your own sake, do you have an alibi?"

"The man... the one who came looking for me," Cartwright began, trembling slightly. "I kind of... owed him something. A few months ago, I came across this really great opportunity delivering stuff for these guys. The pay was decent, and I was hard up on dough at the time. And, well, when you said me and the Reverend got into an argument, that's kinda true. He sorta found out, and got upset with me, said I was throwing away my potential, and I was doing something bad, and I could get into serious trouble, and yeah. So since then, he'd been seeing me regularly, trying to convince me to get out of the business... And, to make a long story short, he eventually got through to me. So I promised him I'd quit. But my boss wasn't so happy. The thing was that when I decided to quit, I already had my next assignment scheduled. So when I didn't make the drop, he decided that I owed him. I couldn't afford to buy him off, so I got scared. I've heard story about these guys; you cross them just once, and you're never heard from again. So I thought I'd beat them to the punch, and I crashed at my girlfriend's for a few days while we took care of any loose ends so the two of us could get out of here, far away; you know, make a clean start.

I didn't even know the Reverend was dead until you arrested me."

Kate and Mal exchanged glances before Kate turned back to Cartwright, saying, "James, if you give us the names of the people involved in this operation you were working for, we can talk to the DA about granting you a pardon."

–

"So," said Kate, as after handing Cartwright over to the department that handled drug smuggling. "Another dead end."

"Maybe we've been looking at this all wrong," said Mal.

"Well, then enlighten us, Castle," said Kate.

He studied the white board that held all of the murder information thus far. "Why would a person kill someone with a knife instead of a gun? A knife is more personal."

"He traced around the heart; the message was very personal."

"Maybe it wasn't a message, maybe it was a symbol- payback."

"What if," said Kate, suddenly inspired. "The murderer believed that Reverend Douglas was to blame for his own loss of something close to him?"

"Did Lanie ever get back to us on what kind of knife it was?" Mal asked.

"Yeah," said Kate. "It was a regular kitchen cutting knife. And it must have recently been sharpened."

"Or brand new..." said Mal. "Who do we know that recently suffered a serious loss and also has lots of access to all types of kitchen utensils?"

"That guy that we interviewed the other day," said Kate. "Fred Saxon."

"Do we think it's him?" asked Mal.

"I think I'll require another interview," said Kate.

"I better call home and let them know I'll be a little late," said Mal.

* * *

A/N: Mal's last remark is intended to align time-wise with the phone call in the previous chapter.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

"You loved your wife very much, didn't you?" said Kate inside the interrogation room.

"Of course I did!" answered Fred Saxon.

"It hurt a lot when she died. It made you lose your faith."

"That doesn't mean I'm a murderer," said Saxon.

"No," agreed Kate. "It doesn't. But Reverend Douglas wouldn't leave you alone, would he? He was concerned about you."

"I told him to leave me be," said Saxon.

"But he wouldn't listen to you," said Kate. "He just kept stopping by, reminding you of all that you lost, telling you to hope and to have faith in the very same Being who took everything from you. Tell me, Fred, how did that make you feel?" One could tell just by looking at Saxon that he was becoming undone. "You couldn't punish god," Kate continued, pushing deeper. "But you could punish His messenger."

"I wanted him to feel the pain that I felt," Saxon sobbed pitifully. "I wanted him to feel his heart broken like I did." Then Saxon broke down completely, covering his hands to his face his shame and anguish.

Kate and Mal looked on, but with no pity for a man who could kill so cruelly.

Kate sent for an officer to process their killer, and then went back to sit at her desk, slumping into her chair. Mal pulled up a chair next to her.

"So, Castle," she sighed. "Does this have the makings of a novel?"

"Maybe if he was a serial killer," Mal thought out loud. "Ooh... and he ate the hearts after he cut them out of his victims."

Kate gave him a look. "I'm glad this wasn't a story, then."

Mal nodded in agreement. "So, I guess-"

But his words were cut off at the sound of an uproar down the corridor. "Get back!" they heard a voice cry out, followed by a gunshot.

"That was Saxon's voice!" said Kate, suddenly jumping from her chair and reaching for her gun. "Stay here," she told Mal, and began carefully making her way toward the commotion.

* * *

When Kate turned the corner, she saw a very agitated Fred Saxon holding a gun to a civilian's head. His arm was wrapped around the woman's body, pinning her down into him. The other officers stood several feet back, but ultimately had him surrounded. His only security lay in his hostage.

When he noticed Beckett, he faced her and said, "I can't go to prison; I'd never survive there."

"You're surrounded, Saxon," said Kate. "It's a lost cause."

"But I've got collateral," said Saxon, indicating his hostage.

"The detective's right," added in Captain Roy Montgomery. "These situations never end well for the perpetrator. Put your gun down now and let the lady go."

"No," said Saxon.

"It'll be all right, miss," Roy said to give some ease to the hostage.

"I don't suppose I could get that in writing," the hostage said.

"Inara?" said Mal in shock, from several feet behind Kate. "What in the ruttin' hell are you doing here?"

"You mean besides being held hostage by a shiong-mung duh kwong-run?" Inara said.

"Oh, juh jen sh guh kwai luh duh jean jan..."

"Good to see you, too," said Inara, rolling her eyes.

"Castle...?" said Kate, turning to him.

"Shut up!" cried Saxon. "All of you! Or she dies!"

Mal, without even a second thought, grabbed Kate's gun from her hand and quickly shot Saxon in his shoulder, causing Saxon to release his grip on both Inara and his weapon and to double over in pain. Several officers rushed at him to put him into custody.

"Castle!" shouted Roy, angrily. "You had no authority to handle that weapon."

"I don't recall seeing Castle fire any weapon," said Kate enigmatically. "Are you sure that's what you saw Roy?"

Roy paused for a moment in thought. "No," he said slowly. "I don't think I did, after all. My eyes must have been playing tricks on me." He then turned and disappeared into his office. Kate went to join Mal and the woman who had been the hostage.

"So I take it you're here to convince me also," Mal said to Inara. "I've made a life for myself. Not resorting to smuggling or petty thieving. I have friends, and I have family, and people who would care if I were gone just as much as you have, maybe more so."

"You're right," said Inara.

"Huh?" said Mal.

"You've got the right to a decent life," she told him.

"Is this... some kind of lure," Mal asked, confused.

"I went by your home first," said Inara. "Alexis is beautiful."

"Smart, too," said Mal.

"No thanks to you, I'm sure."

"Hey," said Mal. When Kate joined them, Mal quickly changed the subject. "Inara," he said. "I'd like to to meet Detective Kate Beckett. Beckett, this is Inara Serra; she's an old acquaintance."

Both women eyed each other carefully.

"Pleased to meet you," said Inara.

"Likewise," said Kate.

And for the first time in a very long time, Mal turned his head heavenward to ask for guidance.


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: Sorry, guys. Midterms. Here's something, though.

* * *

Chapter 14:

"You look well," Inara said to Mal.

"So do you," said Mal. "Though, I suppose you've always taken care of yourself."

"You seem to be managing pretty okay for yourself also."

"What were you expecting?" asked Mal.

"Truth be told, I didn't know what to expect... or what I wanted to find." She took in a deep breath before turning to address Kate, who was still standing beside them. "You see, he's always been full of surprises. You think you've finally figured him out, and then he does something to make you see him in a totally different light."

"I've noticed that also," said Kate. "Today, for instance."

"Day's not over yet," said Mal. Kate gave him a strange look.

"By the way, I had an interesting talk with Martha," said Inara. "She's very... passionate."

"That she is," said Mal.

"I was quite surprised when I stopped by your home to find myself meeting _your mother_."

"In Castle's defense," said Kate, misunderstanding Inara's meaning. "She doesn't technically live with him anymore." But even Kate could feel the tension between the two people who stood before her. "I'm going to head out; you two have fun getting reacquainted."

"Fun isn't even the word," said Inara. "It was nice to meet you Detective Beckett."

"You, too," said Kate. "Bye, Castle."

"G'night, Beckett."

This was the first time Mal and Inara had been alone together in a very long time.

"So," said Mal.

"So," said Inara.

"When's the last time you ate?" he asked.

"Not for a while now," she said. "But food's been the last thing on my mind."

"Well, I'm beginning to feel a bit peckish," said Mal. "We'll have dinner back at my place, then. What do you say?"

"Will Martha be there?" she asked.

"Probably," he said, and then added, "She'll grow on you."

"I have nothing against her," she said. "She seems to care about you a great deal." Mal began to lead Inara out of the station. As they walked toward the exit, Inara said, "But explain to me how she's your mother again...?"

* * *

After what felt like a very long car ride, even longer than how a ride in New York usually feels, Mal and Inara made it back to Mal's apartment.

They entered through the front door and saw both Martha and Alexis chatting by the kitchen counter.

"Hey guys," said Mal.

"Oh good," said Martha, glancing at Mal and Inara. "You found each other." Mal and Inara exchanged glances.

"Is there any dinner left?" asked Mal.

"Just who do you think your daughter is?" said Alexis, immediately removing food from the refrigerator.

The four sat around the table to eat. "So," Alexis said to her father. "Inara told me earlier that you two used to live near each other?"

"Did she now?" said Mal.

"It's true, isn't it?" said Inara.

"Well," said Mal. "Yes, but-"

"And look at you now," she continued. "Who would have guessed that you'd become a famous novelist? I certainly didn't."

"And are you still pursuing _your_ line of work?" asked Mal.

"Why, yes, in fact," Inara said. "I've been working on expanding my clientèle, and, might I say, I still come highly recommended."

"I bet."

"What do you do for a living?" asked Alexis, curious.

"I'm a-" began Inara.

"She's a social worker," interrupted Mal, knowing that Inara's profession, though quite an old one, was not as accepted in this time period.

"Oh," said Alexis. "That's really interesting. You must help a lot of people."

"She just loves giving back," Mal added, a grin plastered to his face.

"Now, that's enough, Richard," said Martha.

"Quite," said Inara.

"You know," said Alexis. "I've been thinking of doing that too when I'm older."

"Over my dead body!" said Mal, turning quickly to Alexis.

"Sheesh, dad!" said Alexis. "Get a grip."

"Sorry," he said. Inara just laughed.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: Wow, it's been a while! Sorry, basically once I was done with midterms, I headed straight into finals. But a lot has happened in the Castle-verse since I last left off. Guess what! Castle is fluent in Chinese. You know what this means, don't you? My story is canon! lol Just kidding, but I do love all the various nods to Firefly that the show likes to sprinkle in every so often. Also, you know how I named Zoe and Wash's son Kai? Well, I didn't realize this when I came up with the name, but Joss Whedon's wife is named Kai (it's gender neutral). Small world, ain't it? Anyway, I'm sure you've already skipped over this part and gotten right to the story...

* * *

Chapter 15:

"You don't have to give up your bed for me," Inara said to Mal later on that night. "I really don't mind the sofa."

"No guest of mine is sleeping on that thing," said Mal, exchanging the sheets on his bed for clean ones. "And since you say you won't leave until you convince me to come with you, you'll probably be here for a pretty long time."

"At least I've made progress," she said.

"Huh?"

"You said _probably_ just now," said Inara.

"Slip of the tongue," said Mal

"Oh," said Inara, a trace of a smile on her lips. "Of course, my mistake."

Mal smoothed down the comforter, giving it a final pat for good measure. "Well," he said. "You're all set. There's a spare towel in the master bathroom. And seeings how you didn't bring any luggage, Martha graciously is letting you borrow some of her clothes- they should fit you somewhat."

"Thank you," she said.

"Are you sure you'll be alright here?" he asked her.

"I've gotten used to sleeping in strange beds," said Inara.

"_Sleeping_?" smiled Mal. "Didn't imagine there was ever much of that going on."

"So what did you imagine then?" asked Inara.

Mal blushed, and began to stammer, saying, "I didn't... you... I mean... Boy, I've forgotten what it's like talking to you sometimes."

"And...?" asked Inara.

"Can't say I didn't entirely miss it," he confessed. "What about you?"

"I'll admit," said Inara. "That there have been times that I did heavily notice the loss of your company."

"I thought whores were supposed to be used to men leaving them."

"You know," said Inara. "I've almost missed you calling me that... almost.

"And what about you," she continued. "A novelist. I never realized you were so well spoken."

"I'm more educated then I let on," he said.

"Could have fooled me," she said.

"Not that difficult of a task," Mal said.

They stared at each other in silence for a moment before breaking out into a small fit of laughter. "God, I missed this," said Inara, still smiling.

Somehow the gap between them had decreased, and Mal was standing over her. He quickly noticed and retreated back towards the door. "Why don't you get some sleep?" he said. "It's getting kind of late."

"Yeah," she agreed.

Mal turned to leave when, all of a sudden, Inara jumped to attention, saying, "Oh god, I've completely forgotten! Mal, hold on a second."

Mal faced her again and watched as she rummaged through a deep pocket, brandishing a folded piece of paper. "During all of today's excitement, I forgot to give you this."

"What is it?" he asked, taking the paper from her outstretched hand.

"Right before I left," said Inara. "River handed me a note; I didn't understand her message, but perhaps you will."

Mal read the words aloud, saying, "'It was winter, so the bird slept. Now it's spring, and the bird must again become what it once was. But before it can soar, it must remember the first rule of flying.'"

He refolded the note and looked up again at Inara. "I see little River hasn't changed."

"Do you know what it means, though?" asked Inara.

Mal frowned. "Can't say I do."

"Too bad," said Inara. "It sounded nice, though."

"Yeah," said Mal, heavy in thought. "Well, good night."

"Good night," said Inara.

* * *

Mal tossed on the couch, trying to find a comfortable position. The quiet of the darkness provided no substitute for his mind to meditate over instead of all that had happened to him over the last few days.

His crew had been quite persistent in trying to bring him back home. But as they say, you can't always go home again. Just as the ranch where he grew up was long demolished to the ground, and the valleys of Shadow where he used to play cowboys with the hired help's children were now cratered by ammunition, and his mother's voice- his real mother's- could no longer sing him sweet lullabies as he drifted off to sleep at night, just as all those things were already half-forgotten memories, he knew that Serenity and its crew would follow the same route. Malcolm Reynolds was another life; he was Richard Castle now, and he could not just erase all that because he was feeling a bit nostalgic.

Mal sighed and reached over to turn on the lamp on the nearby table. He sat up, rubbing his face. He stared at the folded square of River's note, which he had dropped onto the coffee table before he tried in vain to go to sleep.

He hesitated for a moment before picking up the note. He unfolded it and scanned the message again. He had, of course, lied to Inara about not knowing what the words meant. If anything, he always felt like he understood River a lot more than some of the others, even Simon sometimes.

He recalled what he once told River so long ago about the first rule of flying, of what kept a boat in the air. Y_ou can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take a boat in the air you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds._ He believed in that once, and, if he was truly honest with himself for once in his life, then he still believed it now. Others could keep their God- he traded in his faith long ago. But, in exchange for the collapse of Heaven in the wake of a hellish war, he sought answers in the blackness of the void; because no matter how dark things got, there was always a new star to shine through the gloom, there was something new to hope in just ahead.

Even now, in building a new life, a new family, a new career, he was never able to escape his memories of the war. He supposed that was the real reason he continued to help Beckett. All the senseless death he witnessed... he could never understand how people could let it happen, could just leave them there, sick and injured and dying, all under the banner of peace and prosperity. Now, with Kate, he could at least discover on a micro-level why people could do the horrible things they did.

But was he any better than them? That question always seemed to haunt him throughout the years. Was he worthy of being so self-righteous, to stand up and fight against Goliath? It was true, he had done some shady business over the years, had even killed to protect himself and others... He had also lied to those he cared about, and that was something he could not just flee from like he did the Alliance, but had to face every single day.

"Dad?" he heard a soft voice ask suddenly.

Mal jumped in his seat, turning to face his daughter, clad in pajamas and fuzzy slippers over in the kitchen.

"What are you doing up?" he asked Alexis.

"I could ask you the same thing," she said, as she poured herself a glass of water. "Want some?" she offered.

"Sure," he said. Alexis poured a second glass and joined her father in the living room.

"You okay, Dad?" she asked, seeing the solemn expression on his face.

"Yeah," he said. "I've just been thinking about some things." He hesitated for a moment before continuing, "Alexis, you know I love you a lot, right?"

"You're not dying, are you?" she asked, giving him a strange look.

"No," he laughed. "But there's something I want... _need_ to tell you. Something I should have told you a long time ago."

"You can tell me anything," Alexis said, searching into his eyes and grasping his hand in hers.

Mal looked at Alexis, saw the concern on her face. He knew how much she loved him, and just hoped it was enough to forgive him. He was not looking for absolution for his sins, but was afraid that by confessing that, as a consequence, he would lose the one good thing he had left in his life. After so much loss, he could not bear to lose her as well. But he finally had to be honest to her, or else, he realized, he did not deserve her in the first place.


	16. Chapter 16

A/N: Please read: Since the time of my last update, I decided to delete the prologue, which I felt didn't fit into the overall story and added nothing to it. The amount of chapters posted, therefore, is one less than there previously would have been. Thus, if you reviewed last chapter, which FFnet now counts as 15 and not 16 anymore, you might not be able to post a review for this new chapter 16. If you really want to review this chapter then, you can either PM me, or post to an older chapter that you didn't review, or simply wait until the next chapter is posted to voice an opinion. Thanks, and sorry for any inconvenience.

* * *

Chapter 16

Kate Beckett was fast asleep in her bed. She had a long day, and when she got home, it all basically hit her at once. After taking a relaxing soak in the tub, she changed into her sleeping attire and snuggled up under her sheets.

She was suddenly awakened by a loud buzzing. She groaned as she turned to stare at her alarm clock, which read 3:37 am. The buzzing continued until she sat up, put on her slippers, and walked to her intercom.

"Hello?" she asked, stifling a yawn.

"Kate?" came a familiar voice.

"_Alexis_?" Kate asked, suddenly wide awake with a creeping dread. "Is everything alright?"

"No," Alexis said with a hint of urgency. "I know it's early and I'm sorry for waking you, but I need to talk to someone and I didn't know who else to turn to."

"Hold on," said Kate. "I'll buzz you in."

Kate had already put the kettle on when Alexis knocked at her door. Kate ushered the teenager in and sat her down at her sofa. "So what happened?" she asked.

"My dad and I had a fight," said Alexis, tears beginning to well up.

"Is that all?" said Kate, heaving a sigh of relief. "If I had a dollar for every time my father and I got into an argument-"

"This was different," Alexis said, cutting off the detective's sentence.

"Well, what happened then?" asked Kate.

"I can't go into all the details right now, but..." Alexis began. "Is there anyone you always had absolute faith in, that you knew you could trust no matter what?"

"Yes," said Kate. "I've been lucky. Go on."

"Have you then ever found out that they had betrayed that trust? That they had been lying to you for so long that you now doubt everything you've ever known?"

"Alexis... does Castle know where you are?"

"No," she admitted. "I just sort of ran out on him."

"You know I'm going to have to call him," said Kate, rising from her seat.

"I know," said Alexis, softly.

"He's probably worried sick," said Kate. She grabbed the nearest phone and dialed Castle's number.

Instantly, Mal picked up and quickly said, "Hello? Alexis?"

"No," said Kate. "It's me, but Alexis is here at my place."

"Your place?" said Mal, the sound of relief apparent in his voice. "I'll be over as soon as possible." Before Kate could say anymore, the line went dead, so she made some tea from the boiling kettle..

"So you never actually told me yet what the fight was about," she called to Alexis from the kitchen. There was no answer, so Kate turned around to find the runaway fast asleep on the couch, exhausted from her anxieties. Kate grabbed a throw rug and covered Alexis. She then sat down on a nearby recliner and drank her tea until Castle arrived.

* * *

About twenty minutes later, Mal arrived to pick up his daughter. When Kate opened her door, however, Inara was also standing beside him, for she had felt partially responsible for the whole mess.

"Where is she?" Mal asked Kate.

"She's fast asleep on my couch," she said, beckoning them into her apartment. Mal went over to Alexis straight away, and knelt down to softly soothe her awake.

"He really does love her," Inara said to Kate as both women looked on.

"Yeah," said Kate. "Castle can annoy me to hell sometimes, but when I see him with Alexis..." She left the sentence unfinished.

"Dad...?" Alexis said drowsily as her eyes fluttered open.

"Alexis," Mal said to her, softly stroking her hair. "I'm so sorry. I never would have lied to you if I didn't think it was best."

"But why come clean now?" she asked him, now sitting up so that she was level with his kneeling figure.

"Because I'm just so tired of lying," he said. "Not just to you, but to myself. I've forgotten who I am. You're the only one I feel real around, Alexis."

Mal watched as the tears welled up in his daughter's eyes. She suddenly grabbed him into a deep hug. He held her tight, afraid to let her go. "I forgive you," Alexis whispered. "No matter who you are, you'll always be my dad." She let go of him and leaned back to study his face. The expression on her face shifted suddenly, a smile forming on her lips. "Does this mean I have to change my last name?"

"Only if you want to," said Mal, mirroring his daughter's grin.

Alexis rose to her feet, and Mal did likewise. He turned to face Kate and Inara.

"Well, Inara," he said. "It seems I owe you a debt of gratitude. If it weren't for your butting your business in where it didn't belong-"

"I thought I'd return the favor," said Inara, cutting him off. He never was very good at apologizing, anyway. "Though we're nowhere near equal yet. You'd think with all the times that I've gotten you out of trouble, you'd have learned how much of an asset I am to your company."

"You got _me_ out of trouble?" said Mal, his voice beginning to rise. "Well of all the..."

"If I hadn't taught you how to handle a sword, Atherton would have shred you to pieces."

"And I only got into that mess because of you," he said.

"I never asked you to," said Inara. "Or what about when you and Zoe were stuck on that backwards moon with the law breathing down your neck? And need I remind of Saffron?"

"Oh, but you loved it when I included you," Mal retorted, suddenly grinning at her with a self-satisfied haughtiness.

"_Run-tse duh fwotzoo_..." she said, rolling her eyes at him. "Whatever you tell yourself at night."

"Excuse me," Kate finally spoke. "But I have the feeling that I'm missing something. Actually, I've had this feeling for a while now."

Mal looked at Kate, the best friend he had in this quickly unraveling life of his.

"I think she deserves to know, too," Alexis said, still standing near her father.

"You're right," he said, thinking of all the other times he had been able to confide in the detective. "Beckett," he continued, "You might want to sit down for this."

"Sit down for what, Castle?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"The truth," Mal said.

* * *

A/N: Please, I hope there are no flames for this chapter. I know some of you really wanted to witness Mal's confession to Alexis. My reply to you is this: a) Each of God's beings, from the lowliest on up, is entitled to at least a few moments of genuine privacy. b) What actually was spoken, while moving enough to those involved at the actual time, flattens like toothpaste when transferred to paper for later reading. c) Nothing of importance in an expository way was related. (And if any of you know what I'm quoting right now, then you have my undying affection.)

A/N 2: It seems people are wondering if Mal will be telling Kate then. The answer is yes. Next chapter will deal with Mal's explanation and Kate's reaction.


	17. Chapter 17

A/N: Hi, everyone. Well, spring semester has already started, so the next few chapters will probably be churned out a bit slower. We are winding down towards the end- maybe 5 chapters left, I haven't completely decided yet. But hey, at least I'm leaving all of you with Mal's confession to satisfy you for now. Enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 17

"Alright," said Kate, sitting down on one of the chairs placed around her dining table. "I'm listening, Castle."

Mal pulled up another chair to face her, and took a deep breath. "My name isn't Richard Castle."

"I know," said Kate.

"You know?" said Mal, deeply confused.

"It's just your pen name," she explained. "Practically everyone knows that."

"Um, yeah," he said, rubbing his hands across his face, deciding how best to rephrase his statement. "But there's a lot more to it that almost no one else knows. My real name is Malcolm Reynolds. Martha Rodgers is _not_ my mother. And I'm actually from the future."

Silence.

He looked into Kate's eyes as she just stared back at him until she suddenly opened her mouth to speak. "_The future?_ Right... Now, if you'll excuse me, it's really late and I'd like to get in at least a few more hours sleep before having to get ready for work." She began to rise from her seat, but Mal grabbed her arm to motion her back down.

"I know it seems ridiculous," he said, "I wouldn't believe it myself if I didn't experience it first hand."

Kate obviously still would not believe him, but at least decided to remain a bit longer in order to humor him as he told his story.

"I'm from the 26th century," he continued. "I'm the captain of a spaceship called _Serenity_."

"Say hello to Mr. Spock for me," she said, moving to leave again.

"Will you please hear him out, Detective Beckett?" Alexis spoke up. Kate sighed, but stayed.

"Go on," she told him. "What's it like in the future?"

"A few centuries from now," Mal told her. "The Earth will get used up, so we'll have to terraform a whole new galaxy of planets to live on."

"Guess Al Gore was right then," said Kate.

"The Central planets of this new solar system formed the Alliance, and waged war to bring everyone under their rule. Some out there didn't like that idea very much and decided to try and fight it. I was one of them."

"You fought in a war?" scoffed Kate. "You cry out whenever I sneak up on you in the break room."

"Well," he said. "You should learn to give a guy a little warning when he's carrying hot coffee."

"Fine," she said. "So tell me about your spaceship... What was it called again?"

"_Serenity_," he said. "It was a transport ship, Firefly-class. I had a good crew: fighters, pilot, mechanic. We even had our very own Companion." As he said that last part, he looked over towards Inara.

"What do you mean by 'Companion'?" asked Kate.

"Would you like to take this one, Inara?" he asked.

"I'm not ashamed of my occupation," Inara said. "Much though you think I should be. Secondly, I think it should be made perfectly clear that I was not in any way _yours_. What I did _for you_ was to bring a necessary reputability to your den of thieves that would otherwise have been missing."

"How so exactly?" Kate asked again.

"Whoring," Mal said bluntly.

Inara gave Mal an artificial smile before explaining to Kate, "I'm not a whore, detective. I'm a licensed courtesan, and I deal with only high-society clientèle. I'm part of a guild and have had years of training."

"You see, whoring has become a more respectable occupation in the future," Mal added.

"And tell me, Mal," said Inara. "When will thievery become respectable?"

"How is knocking what I do supposed to convince me to come back and do more of it?" asked Mal.

"Because you..." Inara began to say, but quickly changed her mind. "It doesn't matter what I think; the fact is that is that in the eyes of those looking for answers after the fall of the Alliance, tales of your exploits and moral judgments have made you into a hero. You've become a household name."

"I've become a household name here, too."

"They've written a folk song about you," said Inara.

"Really?" Mal asked.

"Yes," she said.

"Better than Jayne's...?" he asked.

"Catchier and more popular," she said.

"Huh..." Mal leaned back in his chair a bit to ponder over this matter.

"Okay," said Kate. "Now I'm even more confused than before, and that's saying something. If you are from the future- and I'm not saying that I believe you- but if you are, then how did you get here? A Delorean? And what exactly did you do with this spaceship of yours to pass the time?"

"To answer your second question first," said Mal. "As I mentioned before, I fought in a war against the Alliance, but my side lost. After that, I didn't really feel at home anywhere, so I purchased a ship. And with that ship I knew that I had the capacity to make a life for myself without having to worry about the cat's paw of the Alliance.

"I formed a crew, and together we took whatever jobs we could get. If it hurt the Alliance, that was a bonus, but we were mainly just looking to survive."

"So you broke the law?" said Kate.

"If you don't hold by the lawmakers, then you can't hold by the law," said Mal.

"Did you ever kill anyone?" she asked.

"Of course he wouldn't," Alexis interjected. When Mal remained silent, she turned to him, and said, "Right?"

"Only when I had to," Mal said. Kate and Alexis both stared at him in shock. "Namely, if they would've killed me instead. Times were tough; people did anything to survive."

"But to kill someone?" said Alexis, suddenly seeing her father in a whole new light.

"Like I said, I made enemies of the Alliance, as well as other folk of the lowly variety. A fella can't do that and not have to constantly watch his back. Come to think of it, it's a miracle I survived this long. I've been shot, stabbed, suffocated, tortured."

"Kissed," said Inara. Mal gave her a dirty look.

Kate, already long forgetting to remain skeptical, said, "So you still haven't told me how you ended up here?"

Mal glossed over the events of Miranda, then about his being captured by the Alliance, and his starting a new life with Martha. He explained to Kate about the incident with Zoe and Jayne, followed by the pleas of Simon and Inara for his return to resume his place as captain.

"It's not just that we- _they_- miss you," Inara said to Mal. "If it was, we would have left you alone when we saw that you had moved on. To put it simply, you're needed. The Alliance has crumbled, and the people need someone like you, with your sense of justice and moral code, to make sure that everyone gets treated with the respect they deserve, the respect that is the right of every human being."

"I'm not a god, Inara," said Mal.

"I'm not saying they'll make you into a king," said Inara. "But you've already become a legend.

"Look, I know you miss us. You already admitted that much, so there's no point in lying about it now."

"I'm doing good here," said Mal. "I help catch killers."

"People get killed in our time, too," said Inara.

"I'm friends with the mayor," said Mal.

"You've made friends of entire communities," she countered. "Mal," she continued more softly. "I told you something a long time ago, something that I shouldn't have."

"What was that?" Mal asked.

"That I was going to pack up my things and leave," she said. "I convinced myself that it would be bad for me to stay, and, once I was gone, I convinced myself that I had made the right decision. But I was wrong. The family we all made, the love and support that we shared, that has bound us forever. I thought that by leaving when I did that I was avoiding getting tied to it, but what I didn't understand was that I was already permanently attached. You are, too, Mal. If it was hopeless for anyone to be able to separate themselves from Serenity, it's you. That ship is yours; that ship is you.

"Besides," she added. "Kaylee really misses you."

Mal stared at Inara pensively, causing her a bit of unease. She knew that being so open to him would leave her vulnerable to the man around whom she always needed to be strong.

"I'll think about it," he finally said. "You know, for Kaylee's sake."

"Who's Kaylee?" Kate whispered to Alexis, who had found her way over to the detective's side.

Alexis shrugged her shoulders, unable to answer.

"But, really," Mal said after a moment of thought, turning towards his daughter. "It's up to Alexis."


	18. Chapter 18

A/N: Yes, this chapter is short. Sorry, but please enjoy all the same.

* * *

Chapter 18

"Whoa," said Alexis. "Hold on. How can you expect me to choose something like this?"

"Because I'm not leaving you," said Mal. "And I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to."

"Do you really want to go back, Dad?" she asked.

"I honestly don't know what I want," he admitted. "This isn't just your home; it's mine, too. But _Serenity_ is a very important part of who I am. It's a part of me that I've never been able to leave behind, no matter where I've ended up or who I've become. I can't explain it and I don't expect you to understand. I don't know what to do, but I do know that I'm not doing anything without you."

"Wait," said Kate. "I don't get why you're even taking this so seriously, Alexis."

"You still don't believe me," said Mal, more as a statement than a question.

"You made up a story," Kate said to him. "It's what you do."

"I know," he said. "But this time I really need you to believe me. I think I've earned your trust by now."

Kate stared into Mal's eyes, really looked into them, and finally said, "You're serious about this, aren't you?"

"Never more serious in my life," said Mal.

"Mal," said Inara, stepping forward. "I think I've already said all I had to say to you. Anything you do now will be your decision: not mine, not Martha's, not even Alexis'. I can't imagine having to go through everything that you have over the last several days, so why don't I return to _Serenity_, fill everyone in on what's happening, and then I'll return in a couple of days after you've made up your mind. And whatever that decision may be, we'll respect it either way."

"Okay," said Mal, conveying no emotion, though, inwardly, he heaved a sigh of relief.

Inara revealed her time-travel device and started punching in the coordinates.

"Where'd you get that, anyway?" Mal asked her.

"Badger," she said.

"Badger?" said Mal. "He's still blustering about?" He paused for a moment. "What do you guys owe him?"

"Just the usual job," Inara told him. "Nothing we can't handle."

"_We_?" said Mal, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes, _we_," said Inara. "Well, I guess this is goodbye for now."

"Guess so," said Mal.

Inara said one more goodbye to everyone before disappearing in plain sight.

"That's impossible!" cried Alexis.

Kate, who had previously been seated, now inexplicably found herself standing and silently walking over to the spot that had recently been occupied by the other woman.

"How'd she do that?" Alexis asked Mal.

"I never really understood the mechanics of time travel," said Mal with a slight shrug.

"Is it safe?" Alexis asked.

"I suppose so," said Mal. "I did it, and I'm fine: didn't arrive without an arm or anything."

Kate who had just been staring, finally turned back to face Mal, and said as though everything had finally become clear, "You _really_ are from the future."

"Yes," said Mal, in slightly patronizing voice, but only because he had told her so several times already in the past few hours, and it was also fun to see the expression of pure amazement on her face when she was usually of a highly skeptical disposition.

"So what are you going to do now?" Kate asked him.

"I really don't know," said Mal, turning from Kate to Alexis, then finally to the ceiling with a heavy sigh.


	19. Chapter 19

A/N: Sorry it's taken me so long to post the next chapter; real life has been a bit hectic. Also, sorry it's a bit short for such a long wait.

* * *

Chapter 19

Inara again found herself in Serenity's cargo bay and immediately went to the intercom to call everyone on board to the kitchen for a meeting. They all quickly assembled, eager to hear the news.

"The Cap'n's not with you?" Kaylee said sadly, as she entered the room. "He didn't wanna come."

"No," said Inara. "That's not it. I just wanted to let you know that Mal's taking time to consider what he wants to do, and to prepare you for whatever outcome he chooses. He admits that he misses us terribly, but I think we all need to consider that he's been living a different life for so long; he's a different person than we remember. He really may not be coming back to us."

"But you said he's still considering it?" asked Simon.

"Yes," said Inara. "There seems to be a growing percentage of him that's trying to talk himself into coming back to Serenity. But he said that he's not going anywhere without his daughter, so I really can't say what will happen. I've given him some space, though. I told him two days, and then he has to tell us his decision."

"I think that sounds fair," said Kai.

"Well," said Inara, looking around at her friends. "That's all I've really come here to tell you. I should return to him and find out what he says."

"Yes," said Kaylee, emphatically. "Go."

"But didn't you tell him two days?" asked Jayne.

"From his perspective," said Inara. "It will be."

"Huh?"

"I can go back to whenever I want," she said to him.

"So you're gonna time travel to two days from now and then go back to him?" asked Jayne, trying to make sense of everything.

"How did you even learn to dress yourself?" asked Simon, staring at Jayne, dumbfounded. "We're already about 500 years ahead of the Captain. She can just go to him directly at whatever date she wants."

"Just because I didn't have your fancy learnin', don't mean I won't understand it eventually, Doc. So why don't you cram it up your-"

"That's enough, Jayne," Zoe interrupted. "Inara," she said, turning to the Companion. "Thank you."

"I guess I'll be off then," she said."

"Good luck," said Kaylee.

"Thanks," said Inara before she disappeared again.

Once she was gone, the group disbanded and went to return to their business. River, who had remained silent the entire meeting, wandered through the corridors, deep in thought. A few moments later, she ran into Daniel, Joey, and Vicki playing with their new parakeet.

"Auntie River, Auntie River," said Joey. "Come look. We've taught him how to say 'Hello.'"

On cue, the parakeet squawked 'Hello' and fluttered his wings a bit, but remained sitting on the perch in his cage. It then whistled a small, happy tune, which delighted the children.

"A bird may feel the constricting metal of its cage, but still he sings because he knows he has wings," River said softly.

"What do you mean, Auntie River?" asked Vicki.

River looked at her niece and smiled sadly. "Nothing you have to worry about," she said. River then held out her hand and stuck a finger into the cage to stroke the parakeet's soft plumage. The four of them listened intently as the bird continued its song.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Inara sat across from Mal and Alexis in Mal's apartment. Martha was sitting on a stool in the kitchen, watching earnestly.

"So," said Inara. "Have you made a decision?"

"We have," said Mal, and Inara noticed as his hand found his way into Alexis'.

"And?" she asked, careful that her voice should betray no emotion.

Mal and Alexis exchanged glances. "Well, Alexis and I talked about it, and," Mal began. "We're coming with you."

"And you're sure about this?" asked Inara.

"Yes," said Mal.

"And I'm so excited!" said Alexis. "I mean, I'm going to live in a real spaceship; how cool is that? And I get to see the future and all of the technological advancements... Oh God, what do I wear? It's not like those ugly jumpers everyone wears in the movies, is it? And what do you eat? Do I have to sleep in a pod?"

"Whoa," said Mal. "Calm down, little lady."

"Sorry," said Alexis. "It just hit me how unprepared I am. I'm going to be skipping over centuries of history- the Earth won't even be around anymore."

"Don't worry," said Mal. "You're a smart girl; you'll be able to pick things up. And besides, I'll be right there with you to help you adjust."

"I know," Alexis said, smiling.

"So I suppose you have some loose ends still," said Inara. "Plenty of goodbyes to make."

"No," said Mal. "We're ready."

"Really?" said Inara. "What about that Kate woman?"

"I've already said what I needed to say to her," said Mal, and Inara wasn't certain, but she thought she saw a hint of sadness in his eyes. "No, there's only one more thing left to do." With that said, he suddenly stood up and turned to face Martha.

Martha stood up also, and they both came close to each other. "Martha," said Mal. "It's been an honor to call you 'Mother.'"

"Richard," said Martha, her eyes beginning to mist and a lump forming in her throat. "Mal..." she corrected. "You will always be my son."

Mal grabbed Martha into a hug, and they held each other until they suddenly noticed Alexis by their side. "And you, my dear," Martha said to her, caressing Alexis' cheeks between her hands. "Are the most special girl I have ever known. And I know that you will make a remarkable woman one day."

"I love you, Gram," said Alexis, wrapping her arms around Martha. Martha held her tightly and kissed her on the forehead. "I love you, too, darling," she said.

When Martha and Alexis finally pulled apart, Mal turned back toward Inara. "Now were ready."

–

Mal took in his surrounding: oh so familiar, yet oh so strange. _You buy this ship, treat her proper - she'll be with you for the rest of your life_, he heard the distant echo of the dealer flash through his mind. And it was true. Throughout his time as Richard Castle, the memory of Serenity had never left him, had stood in the back of his brain, guiding his thoughts and actions, reminding him of the man he ought to be.

_The man he ought to be_... Mal still had no idea just what that was, but he hoped that his return to the life he left behind would help him find himself again.

He looked toward Alexis, her eyes shining bright with wonder as she gazed around the cargo bay, cataloging every crate, every pipe, every crack in the facade.

Next, he looked at Inara, who was staring back at him, her eyes revealing a bit of hesitance in waiting for his own reaction. "It's just like I remember," he told her. "Like it hasn't been a day."

"They are a few wears and tears," said Inara. "But we've looked after her properly. Kaylee's been a wonder."

"She's always loved this boat like it was her own flesh and blood," said Mal.

"You can talk," said Inara, smiling at him.

"Can we see the rest of the ship?" asked Alexis.

"In a minute," said Mal. "There's some people we should say hello to first. Inara, will you do the honors?"

Inara nodded and walked over to the intercom. She picked up the communicator and quickly cleared her throat before announcing, "Will everyone please come to the cargo bay at once."

Mal wrapped an arm around Alexis, pulling her in close, wanting her as near as possible to help steady his nerves as he waited to greet the people he once called family.

* * *

A/N: Okay, so I'm honestly surprised that I have to do this, but since enough people have asked in the reviews (ie. three), I'm going to explain that I personally chose not to show Mal and Kate's goodbye at this point. Instead, I plan on showing it in flashback form in a later chapter.

We're gearing towards the end people: at most, maybe five chapters, but probably less! (But don't keep me to that promise; it could wind up being more knowing me.) I remember when I first started this story- I thought perhaps ten chapters at the most. Ha! I was so young and naive back then...


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Kaylee was, of course, the first to arrive, running so fast, it was amazing she didn't trip all over herself. Instead, she tightly wrapped her arms around her Captain, and Mal could feel her wet tears on his shirt.

He thought she'd say, "I missed you," or "I never stopped hoping," or even "What took you so long?" But instead she pulled away and looked straight into Mal's eyes, saying in the sorriest and most broken voice he'd ever heard escape from her lips, "You promised my daddy you'd look after me."

"I know, mei mei," Mal said, pulling her close once more. "I know."

They smiled at each other, and Kaylee brushed away her tears. That's when she noticed the red headed girl standing next to Inara, looking a bit confused and uncomfortable. "This your daughter?" Kaylee asked.

"Sure is," said Mal. "Kaylee, I'd like you to meet Alexis. Alexis, this Kaylee, the best damn mechanic you're ever likely to come across in this here 'verse."

"Nice to meet you," said Alexis.

"Come here," said Kaylee, grabbing her into a hug. "You're family now."

"Oh," said Alexis, taken slightly off-guard.

"That's right," came a voice from atop the stairs. Everyone in the cargo bay turned to find Zoe with Jayne standing right behind her. She started to walk down towards them, and Mal came forward as well so that they met at the bottom landing. "Captain," she said, her emotions imperceptible to everyone who didn't know her like Mal did. Hurt, hope, joy, fear all rolled up into one revealing themselves through her gaze and stature. Wash would've been able to read her too, Mal thought sadly.

"Zoe," he said.

She nodded once. He was forgiven.

"So you back for good?" Jayne asked him.

"Seems to be," Mal answered him.

"Alright then," said Jayne. "That yer kid?" he asked, nodding towards Alexis.

"Yup," said Mal.

"Hi, I'm Alexis."

"I'm Zoe. This here's Jayne."

"You're the one my Dad was in the war with?" Alexis asked her.

"He's told you about us, then?" Kaylee asked her.

"Only a little," Alexis admitted. "I don't know about any of this until up about a few days ago." She paused. "When did you learn about me?"

"I told them after I visited," said the man whom Alexis vaguely remembered as Simon, who had just entered from one of the other areas of the ship. With him was a tall, thin looking boy probably only a few years older than herself, who was staring at like she had a third eye. It was very distracting.

"We were all pretty surprised," said Kaylee. "Never really thought the Cap'n to be one to settle down."

"Not that hard to believe," said Zoe. "He's always been capable in a position of leadership." She paused for a moment. "Hm," she said. "Red head."

"Yeah," said Alexis. "It's from my mom's side." The mention of her mother sent a jolt through her body. She had never been as close to her mother as she had been to her father, but the thought of never seeing her again suddenly caused her heart to break. Everything she had known was behind her, left in the past (literally). But she had chosen this path. For the sake of her Dad, to return to him all that he had lost and never hoped to find again.

She was brought back from the depths of her thoughts by Zoe, who suddenly smiled a genuine smile. "Didn't realize you had a type, Sir."

"And what's that supposed to mean?" asked Mal, defensively.

"Seems your brides tend to be a bit on the ginger side is all," she told him.

Inara rolled her eyes and grabbed Kai's arm to pull him forward. "Alexis, this is Kai. Zoe's son."

The boy who still hadn't stopped staring inwardly panicked when he was brought close. "Hi," he managed to stammer out.

"Hi," Alexis said, smiling back towards him with the sweetest lips he had ever seen.

"So," he said. "I guess this is your first time on a spaceship."

"Definitely," she said.

"You'll need someone to show you the ins and outs," Kai said.

Mal immediately stepped forward, unhappy with the direction that the conversation was heading. "That's a swell idea," he said. "Kaylee, why don't you show Alexis the engine room?"

"Sure..." said Kaylee, turning towards the direction of the engines. "Follow me." Alexis started to follow, but not before turning back briefly to shrug apologetically towards Kai.

Once they had gone, Mal turned to Kai, looking at him up and down, sizing him up. "Last time I saw you," Mal said. "You were just a babe. I remember I was the next one to hold you after your Ma."

"I'd like to say I remember you," said Kai. "But all I know are the stories I've grown up on."

"S'alright," said Mal. "Suppose I got a lot of catching up to do."

At that moment, Mal looked up towards the catwalk at the top of the stairs. It was though he had sensed her presence, staring at him, penetrating his thoughts. They made eye contact and she flashed one of her enigmatic smiles.

"If you guys don't mind," said Mal, turning back to his crew. "I think I'd like to reacquaint myself with my boat. How 'bout we all meet in the kitchen in an hour for dinner?"

"Okay," said Zoe. And since she agreed, they all agreed.

When Mal looked up again, she was gone.

–

About two minutes later, Mal entered the bridge. He knew she was there. He was just as sure as that as she was that he would come looking for her there. He sat down in the empty co-pilot chair and sighed, looking straight ahead. It had been a long time since he had seen so many stars this close. It was like millions of lanterns beaconing weary travelers forward to their various destinations.

"They _are_ quite beautiful," said River. "They remind me of the fireflies I used to catch in glass jars when I was little."

"I got your note," said Mal.

"_It was winter, so the bird slept_," she repeated from memory. "_Now it's spring, and the bird must again become what it once was. But before it can soar, it must remember the first rule of flying._"

"Do you remember it?" Mal asked her.

"I do," she said. She turned to face him. "But I like to hear you say it."

"Love," said Mal. He didn't say his entire speech. There was no point. Just that one word summed up everything: the reason he returned, the reason he almost didn't.

"You missed something, though," said River. "About that bird."

"And what's that, little Albatross?" asked Mal.

"To soar, it must also learn to no longer fear leaving its nest," said River.

"Is that what I was?" asked Mal. "Afraid? Well, I suppose I was."

"Are you still?" she asked.

"Yes," he said. He then looked back towards the stars, wondering which beacon was meant for him. Well, it didn't matter. He would visit them all.

* * *

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed the reunion. I know I've made you wait a while for it. Okay, so before writing this, I totally knew how I wanted to end the story, but now that I've actually written it, I'm not so sure anymore. (I've gone through so many ending ideas by now, I should just turn this into a choose your own adventure story!) Well, when I do the next chapter, I'll see where that leads me.

Oh, and the Mal-Kate goodbye should be next chapter as well.


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry that I always make you guys wait so long, but here is the next, and I think final, chapter. I've been going back and forth on how I feel the story should end for so long, and I think I've come to a point that's good enough to stop. If you think I've left a huge plothole or left out some important info, tell me in the reviews, and I may add in an epilogue. (I know there are definitely some things I've chosen to ignore, like Alexis' mom Meredith, etc.) Please enjoy!

* * *

Chapter 22:

It had been about three months since Mal returned to Serenity, enough time for the news to spread. They even had some new business: old friends, out on the rim, small jobs to help ease the captain back into the position of leadership. They were now on route to Persephone; he knew Badger was waiting, but would never dignify to scout out the motley crew himself. Badger felt he was owed something, and experience told Mal that the longer they waited, the more offended Badger would become. And although an angry Badger wasn't exactly dangerous, he could still makes things pretty annoying.

Mal currently sat above the cargo bay, his legs dangling over the catwalk, with a bottle of some of Kaylee's home brew perched next to him. He watched as said mechanic and Alexis sat on the ground below, books and miscellaneous brik-a-brak spread out around them, as Kaylee gave his daughter her daily history-of-the-future lesson. Each member of the crew, having taken so warmly to the young redhead, secretly felt it was their personal duty to aid in these lessons as well, which was why Jayne and Kai were working out nearby and occasionally pausing to add in their two cents worth.

"Jayne," said Kaylee. "Nobody cares if that _go se_ moon is known for having the most bar fights per day. I'm tryin' to teach Alexis about its significance in the Second Battle of Xingling."

Jayne just growled, and turned away to do another bench press.

"That's okay," said Alexis. "I'm sure it'll turn out to be very important some day."

But Mal only half-listened to all this as he recalled all the changes that had occurred throughout the last few months. He was also busy remembering a couple other things too, and a couple other people, namely the ones he left behind...

* * *

_There was a knock at Kate's door. "Castle?" she asked, as she beckoned in her friend. "What are you doing here? I thought you would've left by now."_

"_I could never leave without saying goodbye first," said Mal._

"_So you've really made your decision then?" she asked._

"_Yeah, I, uh," he stammered. "They're my crew... my family. I can't explain the kind of pull that ship has on me, what it used to mean to me." His voice suddenly found more strength and passion. "Kate, I had lost so much; that ship, those people, they saved me."_

"_I'm glad for you, Castle," she said, her brow furrowing on the last word. "Or should I say 'Mal'?"_

"_Castle's fine," Mal told her._

"_Castle," she said, a bittersweet smile on her lips. "Just don't forget the friends you've made here, okay?"_

"_Never," he promised._

* * *

He was taken from his memories as he heard a pair of heels walking closer. "Mind if I join you?" Inara asked.

"Please," Mal said, indicating for her to sit beside him, and offering her a mug and some of Kaylee's brew, which she accepted, sipping slowly.

"So do you miss it?" Inara asked him.

"A little," Mal confessed. "It'll take some time to really feel at home here again."

"Well," said Inara. "You've already made a lot of headway. And Alexis really seems to be enjoying herself." They both peered down to watch as Alexis and Kai held a conversation that consisted of a lot of smiling and giggling.

"A little too much," Mal said, narrowing his eyes toward the two teenagers.

"Never pictured you as an over-protective father," said Inara, smiling to herself.

"You never pictured me as a best-selling novelist, either," he said. "But I'm capable of a lot of things."

"I'm beginning to see that," she said, taking another sip of her drink. "So where do we go from here?"

"Stay the course," said Mal. "See where that takes us, and never look back."

* * *

"_It's going to be strange without you," Kate said._

"_You're strong enough to take care of yourself," said Mal. "Just... do me a favor, will ya? Look out for Martha for me."_

"_Of course," said Kate._

"_I'm gonna miss you," said Mal. "You're my best friend on this entire Earth."_

"_Seeing how large the universe actually is according to you," said Kate. "I don't know how I feel about that."_

"_Feel happy," said Mal._

"_Only if you do the same," said Kate._

"_I will," said Mal. "I'm going back home."_

_Kate leaned in for a hug, and they grabbed each other. When they finally pulled away, Mal rubbed away a few stray tears falling down Kate's cheek._

"_Don't cry, Kate," he told her. "Remember, I have a time-travel device. I can always pop in for a visit."_

_Suddenly Kate froze and her tears stopped. "What?" she asked._

"_It's really easy, actually. And safe."_

"_And you knew this the entire time?" Kate said, pushing away from him as anger flared in her voice._

"_Yeah," said Mal, cautiously. _

"_I've been wearing my heart on my sleeve ever since you began to consider leaving, and you didn't think to tell me you'd also return for the occasional visit?"_

"_I'm telling you now," said Mal. "Does that count for something?"_

_Kate stared at him silently for a moment before speaking. "Yes, it does."_

"_What?" said Mal, even more flabbergasted by her sudden pardon than by her anger._

"_I want to hear all about everything the next time I see you," said Kate in her demanding tone._

"_I promise to give you exclusive access and full details to any and all adventures and mundane activities from now until I see you next."_

"_Good," said Kate._

"_Good," said Mal._

* * *

"So how do you feel then?" Inara asked.

Mal breathed in deeply, and said, "Free."

"Free?"

"Free to be whoever I want," he explained.

"And what is that?" she asked.

"Myself," said Mal. "Whoever that turns out to be."

* * *

A/N: What a long strange trip it's been. Thanks for all your support! I really hope you enjoyed reading!


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